Psalm 102:25-27 say, “Of old, you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain. They will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away. But you are the same, and your years have no end.”
Another year has come and gone, but it is another year that God has shown Himself faithful, working all things for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. Let’s look back at 40 of the biggest Christian headlines for 2024. This will be part 1, covering the first half of the year from January to June. I’ll post part 2 next week.
I do this Year in Review at the end of every year on my podcast (which you can find here). I look at multiple Christian news websites to compile this list, and this will obviously be from an American perspective though some international headlines are included. Links to sources are provided. Without further adieu, here are the first 20 major headlines in Christian news for 2024.
1) JANUARY 19
Alistair Begg Advises a Grandmother to Attend Her Grandson’s Gay Wedding
This story actually begins in September of last year, when on his radio program Truth for Life, Alistair Begg talked about advice he gave to a grandmother who was asking about attending her gay son’s wedding to a man who claimed to be transgender—thus making this a gay wedding. Begg advised the grandmother that she should go to the wedding to show her love.
“I suggest you do go to the ceremony,” he said. “Your love for them may catch them off guard, but your absence will simply reinforce the fact that they said, ‘These people are what I always thought: judgmental, critical, unprepared to countenance anything.'”
These comments did not surface until January of this year, and it erupted into a worldwide conversation over whether a Christian should attend a gay wedding. Solid Bible teachers such as John MacArthur, Albert Mohler, and Carl Truman weighed in to say no.
Said Mohler, a Christian should not attend such a marriage ceremony because a Christian doesn’t believe that’s a marriage at all. Marriage should be between a man and a woman, and to attend a re-definition of the ceremony would be to participate in a celebration that a Christian cannot endorse, and would therefore be bearing false witness to a marriage that isn’t really a marriage.
Said John MacArthur, “The most loving thing you could possibly do would be not to go, and to condemn the relationship. That is loving. It is not loving to help somebody celebrate stepping into the fury of God’s judgment.”
Given the opportunity to recant, Begg doubled-down on his position and referred to some of his detractors as Pharisees. His radio program was dropped by American Family Radio and The Reformation Network, and he was disinvited from speaking at the Shepherd’s Conference in March.
Later in September, Begg announced his intention to retire as senior pastor of Parkside Church in Cleveland, OH, where he’s been preaching since 1983. His retirement will be effective in September of next year.
2) FEBRUARY 11
Online Sports Gambling Reaches an All-Time High
Get this: It took 89 years to go from one state with legalized sports betting to two states. It has taken less than six years to go from two states to 39 states, with Missouri becoming the most recent to legalize online sports betting this year.
Americans wagered over $20 billion in the Superbowl and would later wager billions more during March Madness. Now why is that considered a Christian headline story? Well in states like Alabama and Texas, where sports betting is not yet legal, the strongest opponents against it are Christians.
Greg Davis is a baptist pastor and president of the Alabama Citizens Action Program. They oppose gambling, he says, because of its harmful and addictive nature. Texas Baptists stand opposed to legalizing gambling in the Lone Star state. United Methodists have traditionally opposed gambling, calling it a “menace to society” according to their social principles.
The ease of online sports gambling is going to make that menace even larger. The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils (1 Timothy 6:10). And Hebrews 13:5 says, “Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.'”
3) FEBRUARY 15
Greece Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage
Same-sex “marriage” became legal in two countries this year: Estonia and Greece. Estonia actually legalized it last year, but the new law took effect on January 1. Then in February, Greece legalized same-sex marriage when it passed through parliament. In January of 2025, same-sex marriage will be legal in Liechtenstein and Thailand, and that will bring the total to 38 countries worldwide.
The Bible says God created marriage to be between a man and his wife only. Jesus repeated this again in Matthew 19. And the apostle Paul wrote, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). Nations who approve of such an abomination are under the judgment of God.
4) FEBRUARY 25
John MacArthur is Right About Martin Luther King Jr.
On February 19, in a Q&A session at Grace Community Church in LA, pastor John MacArthur was asked about the drift that has occurred in formerly gospel-faithful collectives such as The Gospel Coalition and T4G (Together for the Gospel).
Within his four-and-a-half minute answer, MacArthur made a 30-second comment about Martin Luther King Jr., whom both TGC and T4G had honored as a man of God. MacArthur said that although King did a lot of good in the Civil Rights movement, he wasn’t a believer and lived an immoral lifestyle.
That is true. I’ve said the same thing. I did a video pointing out that King denied the bodily resurrection of Christ and preached other heresies. The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:17, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” On top of this, King was a serial womanizer, known even to his friends and those who deeply admired him.
Well that short snippet set off a firestorm of controversy. Numerous faith outlets and even secular sources covered that short comment. An article disagreeing with MacArthur’s correct assessment became one of the most read stories published in Christianity Today for 2024. Justin Peters also reviewed MacArthur’s comments in a video on his channel. You can watch it here.
5) MARCH 10
The Chosen’s Drama
“The Chosen” might be the most popular television show on the planet. They have reached over 200 million viewers in 2024, with a goal to reach a billion as the show continues. This is the first multi-season serial drama about Jesus and His disciples, but it’s largely speculative in its storytelling, not biblical.
Creator of “The Chosen,” Dallas Jenkins, says their metric for their storytelling is to ask, “Is it plausible?” He’s said that 95% of what you see in the show isn’t in the Bible. This reinterprets the parts of the show that are from the Bible, setting them in a different context. “The Chosen” should not be thought of as a biblically faithful adaptation.
Season 4 of the show dropped in 2024, surrounded by a lot of off-camera drama. Jenkins and company had signed a new deal with Lionsgate which got the show into more theaters, but it hindered the show from being released on their streaming service. Eventually all that drama got ironed out and Season 4 was released, but “The Chosen” had to sever its longtime deal with Angel Studios. They also added an additional streaming contract with Disney.
Jonathan Roumie who plays Jesus in the show was a special guest on “The View” on ABC. I mean, when your Jesus is welcome among those wicked women, it’s not the true Christ of the Bible you follow. Dallas Jenkins was also interviewed by Jordan Peterson, one of the foremost thought-leaders of our age. More on Peterson later.
6) MARCH 11
Former Only Fans Porn Star Nala Ray Shares Her Testimony
A young woman who went by the name Nala Ray was one of the most popular porn stars on Only Fans (do not look up this site). She was pulling in six figures per month, having made $14 million in her five years on the website. Then late last year, she walked away from it, renouncing a life of porn and being baptized a Christian. She immediately removed all of her videos from Only Fans.
On March 11, she posted a video to Instagram briefly sharing her testimony. She was interviewed by Michael Knowles of the Daily Wire. That interview and clips from it have been viewed millions of times. She also interviewed with Lecrae which has also been seen a million times.
She’s also received backlash, from both Christians and unbelievers, who doubt that her testimony is genuine. Personally, I have no reason to believe she’s not a Christian. But I say this with great care for your soul—you would be better off not looking up who she is. Even though she’s not distributing her own pornographic content anymore, there are others who are and it’s still connected with her name (you’re safe to watch the interviews I’ve linked to above).
There may need to be a greater conversation about this in the long term, about whether men and women who have made porn content can continue to be so public on social media, or should they take time away from the limelight. It was only a year ago Nala Ray was making porn. Now she’s sharing her testimony about how she turned to Christ. Praise God for that. But shouldn’t she be stepping away from the attention to work out her own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12)?
America’s porn addiction made a lot of headlines in 2024. Congressman and pastor Dusty Deevers of OK was made fun of by Jimmy Fallon for introducing a bill that would make sexting illegal. Stats this year revealed that somewhere between 60 to 70 percent of men and women consumed porn. And at the end of 2024, the website Porn Hub will be banned in 13 states in the U.S.
7) MARCH 25
Most Americans Don’t Go to Church
Gallup released poll findings which revealed that for the first time, as long as these numbers have been studied, over half of Americans (56%) seldom or never attend church. Only 30% say they attend church on a weekly or almost weekly basis.
Among the different beliefs, the Mormons are the most devoted, with 67% attending weekly services, 44% of Protestants attend weekly, 38% of Muslims, and only 33% of Roman Catholics attend church on a weekly basis.
There was also an increase among those who would say they are unaffiliated with any religion calling themselves cultural Christians. In an interview on Easter Sunday, famed atheist Richard Dawkins, once known as one of the four horsemen of new atheism, said that he’s a cultural Christian. And the world’s richest man Elon Musk has said the same about himself.
8) MARCH 26
Donald Trump Promotes the Trump Bible
Though the headlines and the jokes read that Donald Trump came out with his own Bible, he didn’t. Trump made a commercial promoting the Lee Greenwood Bible, or as Greenwood is selling it, the God Bless the USA Bible. It’s a printing of the King James Bible which includes the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the lyrics to Lee Greenwood’s famous song “God Bless the USA.”
The Bible has actually been in print for several years. But because Trump made an ad for the Bible, it became known as the Trump Bible, and as you can imagine, people went absolutely bananas over the whole thing. But despite all the sanctimonious jokes, mostly by people who don’t read the Bible, Donald Trump has not published or hawked his own Bible.
9) MARCH 29
Joe Biden Names Easter Sunday “Trans Visibility Day”
On Good Friday, the day that Christians traditionally reflect on the sacrifice of Christ on the cross for our sins, President of the United States Joe Biden issued a proclamation that Easter Sunday, March 31, would be Trans Visibility Day. (The absurdity of that name is that if the trans movement is anything, it is most certainly visible.)
On Easter Sunday, Biden said, “Today, on Transgender Day of Visibility, I have a simple message to all trans Americans: I see you. You are made in the image of God, and you’re worthy of respect and dignity.” Yes, the same verse that says God made them male and female (Genesis 1:27) is the verse Biden twisted to say, “Nah, forget biology. Be whatever you want to be.”
These are the hopeless and destructive lies the world is pumping out every day. How is the church to respond? We must preach the gospel. They’re going to say, “God gave you the wrong body, and we can help mutilate it for you.” But the gospel says Jesus gave His own body, and He will redeem yours for you.
10) APRIL 8
Another Total Solar Eclipse Crosses North America
Now, surely you understand how the Solar Eclipse had an impact on Christian Life. All kinds of false prophets were coming out of the woodwork proclaiming doom and gloom on America because for the second time in 7 years, we were getting a cross-continent solar eclipse.
It was going to pass over cities named Ninevah and Salem (short for Jerusalem), and the two paths of the solar eclipse, the one in 2017 and the one in 2024, crossed over Rapture, IN. None of that has anything to do with anything. Obviously, we are all still here.
This actually cheapens any real study of eschatology, or the study of the end times, and makes a mockery of the gospel before unbelievers. Solar eclipses are entirely predictable and naturally occurring. They have nothing to do with passages of Scripture that talk about the sun darkening.
Jesus said no one will know the hour or the day. But we do know the hour and the day of the next solar eclipse. It will be in Europe on August 12, 2026, the first total solar eclipse to be seen in Europe in 27 years. But since it will only be visible in Greenland, Iceland, and northern Spain, I predict you won’t hear hardly a peep from these false prophet eclipse priests.
11) APRIL 10
The Cass Review Destroys the Transgender Narrative
The Independent Review of Gender Identity Services for Children and Young People, also called the Cass Review, was commissioned in 2020 by the National Health Service of England. Led by pediatrician Hillary Cass, the study was published on April 10, and found what common sense people already knew—that giving puberty blockers and so-called gender-affirming surgeries to teens and minors is really, really bad! Permanently damaging, physically and psychologically.
At the end of the year, the US supreme court listened to arguments regarding a bill in the state of Tennessee that would block these procedures for minors. Of course, the liberal judges who can’t tell their right from their left are all on board with transing kids, but the rest of the court will most likely uphold TN’s ban. We’ll wait and see.
12) APRIL 16
Mark Driscoll is At It Again
The annual Stronger Men’s Conference, put on by James River Church near Springfield, MO, has often featured pyrotechnics and circus act performances as part of the spectacle that comes with their Pentecostal programming for men.
Disgraced pastor Mark Driscoll, who abandoned Mars Hill Church ten years ago and now pastors a church just up the road from me, has been involved in this conference for years. But at the conference in 2024, they featured a stunt from a guy who has performed this stunt on on shows like America’s Got Talent.
In the stunt he takes off his shirt, swallows a sword, ascends a tall pole, turns upside down, and rapidly descends the pole, stopping just short with the hilt of the sword mere inches from the ground. Driscoll got up to speak after this death-defying stunt, and he called it pagan, where this guy who was a stripper ascended an Ashera pole on an alter to a false god.
Driscoll was removed from stage, there was days of drama between him and pastor John Lindell, some defended Mark and others were critical… Ultimately, this was just more of Mark Driscoll being Mark Driscoll, making the most of an opportunity to sell his current book on spiritual warfare. Both sides were a sideshow act. (You can see my conversation with Justin Peters about it here.)
13) APRIL 19
Taylor Swift Releases “Tortured Poets Department”
Now who cares, right? I certainly don’t. Taylor Swift claims to be a Christian, but she’s clearly not. She openly mocks God on the album, in one song calling her fornicating lover the “Holy Ghost.” She’s ripped Christians in her songs before, for not being accepting of LGBTQ perversity. She’s a serial adulteress and embraces just about everything Satan loves.
And yet she’s adored among many Christians. The Gospel Coalition has done several often disturbing articles praising of Swift. This year, they published an article on the gospel in her lyrics. Back in February, a high school made headlines for hosting the Taylor Swift Bible Study. And in May, over a thousand people attended a Taylor Swift-themed church service at the historic Church of the Holy Spirit in Heidelberg, Germany. Yes, that Heidelberg.
As 2 Peter 2:18-19 says of Swift and other false musical prophets, “Speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption.”
14) APRIL 28
John-Paul Miller Announces His Wife Mica Committed Suicide
Now this is just an incredibly sad story that happened at a church in Myrtle Beach, SC, but it held the world’s attention for a few weeks. John-Paul Miller was the pastor of Solid Rock church and announced on Sunday, April 28, that his wife Mica had committed suicide. He made the announcement at the end of a sermon he just preached as if nothing was wrong.
From there all kinds of drama ensued. It was discovered Mica was in the process of divorcing John-Paul. His first wife Alison, mother to their five children, came out and accused John-Paul of having sex with minors and prostitutes. One of the women he committed adultery with was Mica before he eventually married her.
The next Sunday, John-Paul talked about raising Mica from the dead and thought he had successfully achieved it. Later in May, a video was posted to Facebook showing John-Paul in what appeared to be a drug-induced psychosis laying on someone’s lawn and mumbling incoherently. He returned to the pulpit in September, then in November, he was arrested for assault and let go.
This is a man who has no business ever being a pastor again, and shame on the people who keep putting him there (see 1 Timothy 3:1-5 and Titus 1:5-9). I pray he repents and seeks Christ, or the day of judgment will not go well with him.
15) APRIL 28
Russell Brand is Baptized
Also on April 28, Russell Brand was baptized in what was probably the highest-profile baptism of 2024. In case you’re not familiar with him, Russell Brand is a comedian and actor turned cultural commentator from the UK. He was formerly married to pop star Katy Perry from 2010 to 2012. By his own admission, he was into all kinds of sex and drugs and spiritual practices, including transcendental meditation. And he repented from all of that for Jesus Christ.
Brand had been posting on social media about his longing for God and desire to be baptized, which happened on Sunday, April 28, in the River Thames in England. Since then he’s been attending an Anglican church and has devoted most of his social media to theology. It is as expected a mixed bag. He’s made some solid theological comments and some that are not so solid. But he was one of the most listened to voices on the subject of faith in 2024, along with Jordan Peterson.
16) MAY 1
The United Methodist Church Overturns Its Ban on LGBTQ Clergy
This was something we knew was coming this year, so it really wasn’t a matter of if, nor was it a matter of when. The world was aware it would happen at the UMC general assembly in 2024. On May 1, the Methodists voted overwhelmingly to overturn a 40-year-old measure that banned gay clergy from being ordained in the denomination. Homosexual men and women can now serve as ministers, and the church will conduct same-sex weddings, according to their website.
The UMC experienced a mass exodus of several thousand conservative congregations before the end of 2023. But still with 11 million members, the UMC now joins the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church USA, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the United Church of Christ as being among those to ordain gay clergy. Christ has removed his lamp stand from these churches (Revelation 2:5), and the Holy Spirit is not there.
Interestingly enough, the liberal African Methodist Episcopal church (AME), despite being a liberal assembly, voted to uphold its ban on gay clergy and does not recognize same-sex unions. Kamala Harris was praising of this church, despite the fact that she herself is ardently in favor of “gay marriage.”
17) MAY 10
Abortions in America are Increasing
Despite the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, which allowed abortion on demand nationwide in America, and despite the limited abortion bans in effect in several states, abortion increased in the United States in 2023 and 24. According to the Society of Family Planning’s WeCount project, abortion has risen from 82,000 unborn babies murdered per month to 86,000 unborn babies murdered per month.
That doesn’t count the number of abortions done by mail. There is not a state in the U.S. where you cannot get the abortion pill. Though figures for the pill are difficult to track, it is estimated that nearly 20% of abortions are done at home with the abortion pill.
The church remains one of the few voices speaking out on behalf of the lives of unborn children. As Proverbs 31:8-9 says, “Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
18) MAY 19
The Pope Says All People are Fundamentally Good
Norah O’Donnell of 60 Minutes sat down with Roman Catholic pope Francis under a painting of the Roman goddess Mary to address many topics, including war, immigration, the ordination of women, and the sexual abuse of hundreds of thousands of children in Roman Catholicism. Francis spoke in his native Spanish and it was translated for the viewers into English.
Perhaps the most notable portion of the interview was where he clarified a statement he made last December to allow priests to bless couples in same-sex marriages. He wasn’t calling for the blessing of the union itself, he said, but for the people in that union, blessing was not to be withheld.
One of many criticisms I’ve made of Roman Catholicism is that their claim to authority is nonsense. If Francis was really a representative of Christ, he would be calling for the discipline of couples in these unions, removing them from the church and from communion, not blessing them.
O’Donnell reminded viewers that Francis has said regarding homosexuality, “Who am I to judge? Homosexuality is not a crime.” Francis agreed and said, “No, it’s a human fact.” Very selective language there, but basically Francis doesn’t see homosexuality as a sin but basic biology. This is absurd and anti-biblical. He is not the vicar of Christ, but an antichrist.
At the very end of the interview, Francis said, “People are fundamentally good. We are all fundamentally good. Yes, there are some rogues and sinners, but the heart itself is good.”
No, the Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Romans 3:10 says, “None is righteous, no, not one.” And verse 12, “No one does good, not even one.” It is only Christ who changes us and justifies us before God. But of course an antichrist is never going to say that.
19) MAY 19
The Largest Synchronized Baptism in History (?)
Sean Feucht (pronounced Foyt), former worship leader at Bethel Church in Redding, CA, has been one of the most influential people in evangelicalism, not just in 2024 but for the last several years. He stood against California laws during COVID which shut down churches and prohibited singing in worship. Feucht started the “Let Us Worship” movement in response.
Like the New Apostolic Reformation he’s from, Feucht is a Dominionist. He believes his charismatic sect of Christianity is going to take Dominion and reclaim America for God. Because of the rhetoric he has preached in regard to this, he gets called a Christian Nationalist. (This is not to be confused with the Reformed Christian Nationalist sect led by Doug Wilson and Stephen Wolfe. I may address that in part 2.)
On Pentecost Sunday, May 19, Feucht coordinated with Saddleback Church, Zoe Church, Restoration Life Church, Higher Vision Church, and VIVE Church, among others, to baptize 12,000 people at one time, 6,000 at Huntington Beach alone. It claimed to be the largest number of baptisms to happen at one time, but who knows if that’s the case. They’re looking to make this a nationwide event on Pentecost Sunday, 2025, which falls on June 8.
But given that Bethel Church is heretical in what they believe and teach about Jesus, one must ask exactly what are these people being baptized into. There may be some genuine believers among these baptisms. But since they’re looking at a nationwide baptism movement in 2024, be forewarned not to participate.
20) JUNE 12
The Southern Baptist Church Fails to Pass Ban on Women Pastors
The Southern Baptist Convention is the largest Protestant denomination in North America. Their annual meeting is held each June in a varying location, this time in Indianapolis. It’s always sure to be a hot bed of drama.
In 2024, the SBC annual meeting was looking toward the passage of the Law Amendment, a change to the Southern Baptist constitution which would automatically omit any church from fellowship in the denomination if that church had a woman as a pastor. The amendment had passed in New Orleans the year before, and it needed to pass a second consecutive annual meeting in order to be official. But the measure failed to achieve the 2/3 needed to make the constitutional change.
Churches that cooperate within the Southern Baptist convention are still discouraged from having women as pastors. But without the Law Amendment, time will need to be taken at every annual meeting to examine whether a church that has a woman pastor is in friendly cooperation with the convention, instead of the Law Amendment automatically excluding them.
The adoption of the Nicene Creed also became a source of debate at this year’s annual meeting. While the messengers may have been soft on the creed, they took a hard-line stance opposed to In vitro Fertilization (IVF), a more conservative position than even U.S. Senators in the Republican Party expressed that same week.
Clint Pressley, pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte, NC, was voted in as the next president of the SBC. It might have been the least controversial pick for president in years. The outcome to the Law Amendment aside, the SBC remains not only the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. but one of the most conservative.
This concludes the first 20 news headlines for 2024. I’ll try to have Part 2 up this time next week!
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