Category: Blog

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Monday, November 11, 2024U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., (L) celebrates with Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., as the House of Representatives holds an election for a new Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol on October 25, 2023, in Washington, D.C. After a contentious nominating period that has seen four candidates over a three-week period, the House GOP conference selected Johnson as their most recent nominee to succeed former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who was ousted on October 4 in a move led by a small group of conservative members of his own party. | Win McNamee/Getty Images

The Republican Party has secured a majority of the seats in the United States House of Representatives, having already secured the White House and the U.S. Senate.

The Hill Decision Desk HQ projected on Monday evening that the Republican Party will get at least 218 seats in the House, which is the minimum number needed to have a majority.

Describing the Republican election victories as a “trifecta,” The Hill acknowledged that the final tally of the House remains “uncertain” as ballots in California continue to be counted.

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In what many considered a historic political comeback, President-elect Donald Trump defeated Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris to become the next president.

Trump’s victory marks the first time a candidate was elected to non-consecutive presidential terms since Grover Cleveland in the late 19th century.

It also marks the first time in U.S. history that a convicted felon won a presidential election, as Trump was found guilty in May on 34 charges by a New York jury in a “hush money” case. Trump denies any wrongdoing and is appealing the case.

Although the winner of the presidential election was determined within 24 hours of Election Day, which party controls the House had remained uncertain.

Last Thursday, The Hill reported that Rep. David Valadao, R-Calif., had won reelection against his Democrat challenger, Rudy Salas, with about 53.6% of the vote.

Valadao was one of two Republicans who won reelection this year who had previously voted to impeach Trump over his alleged connections to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. The other was Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington state.

Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride, a Democrat who is a man but identifies as a woman, became the first openly trans-identified candidate to be elected to Congress when he defeated Republican opponent John Whalen III.

“Tonight is a testament to Delawareans that here in our state of neighbors, we judge candidates based on their ideas and not their identities,” McBride stated on Election Day, according to NBC News.

On Sunday, Rep. Yadira Caraveo, D-Colo., who had served for one term, conceded to Republican challenger Gabe Evans even before the race had been officially called.

“I am incredibly humbled to be chosen as the next congressman for Colorado’s 8th,” Evans stated shortly after Caraveo’s concession. “It is an honor to be entrusted with the job of representing you and your families, and I am ready to fight back for a better direction for all Coloradans.”

“Most importantly, I give thanks to God. My faith in Him has sustained me throughout this 15-month campaign. I have spent my entire life running toward challenge, and now I am ready to take on my next challenge.”

News of the Republicans securing control of the lower chamber of Congress comes after the GOP had already retaken the Senate, securing at least 53 seats as of Monday.

Their control of the upper chamber was secured last week when outgoing Republican West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice won the seat held by retiring Independent Joe Manchin and Republican Bernie Moreno defeating three-term Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio.

The identity of the Senate majority leader remains unclear as Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky had announced earlier this year that he was stepping down as Senate GOP leader at the end of the 118th Congress. 

Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a notable election forecaster developed by Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia, had predicted a 218-217 split with the razor-thin majority likely going to the Democrats.

“Just like the presidential race, the battle for the House has been a Toss-up for essentially the whole cycle,” wrote Sabato, managing editor Kyle Kondik and associate editor J. Miles Coleman in a report published the day before Election Day.

“Our general belief throughout was that the presidential and House winner was likelier than not to be the same. Our final ratings reflect this, but only by the barest possible margin and with little confidence. We have 218 seats Safe, Likely, or Leaning Democratic, and 217 Safe, Likely, or Leaning Republican.”

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By Jon Brown, Christian Post Reporter Monday, November 11, 2024Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., speaks at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on June 20, 2023. | The Christian Post/Nicole Alcindor

President-elect Donald Trump has asked Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

“I am honored to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter,” Trump said in a statement to the New York Post.

Stefanik, 40, who made history when she was elected in 2014 at age 30 to represent New York’s 21st Congressional District, serves as chair of the House Republican conference and is the fourth most powerful Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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Stefanik has been a staunch Trump ally, including when he was facing his first impeachment in 2019 and early 2020.

“I am truly honored to earn President Trump’s nomination to serve in his Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations,” Stefanik said in a statement to the Post.

“During my conversation with President Trump, I shared how deeply humbled I am to accept his nomination and that I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the United States Senate.”

“President Trump’s historic landslide election has given hope to the American people and is a reminder that brighter days are ahead — both at home and abroad,” she added. “America continues to be the beacon of the world, but we expect and must demand that our friends and allies be strong partners in the peace we seek.”

Stefanik’s appointment comes as the U.N. faces criticism for its response to the Israel-Hamas war that has been raging since Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The international body has taken flak from conservatives for routinely condemning Israel while allowing dictatorships such as Cuba and China to have seats on its Human Rights Council.

Stefanik went viral last year when she grilled the presidents of Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology over their handling of antisemitism on their campuses in the wake of Hamas’ attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Both the presidents of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania resigned following the hearing with Stefanik’s questioning.

Stefanik’s appointment comes on the heels of Trump announcing that former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tom Homan will serve as “border czar” and Susie Wiles will be his White House chief of staff, making her the first woman to fill the role.

Trump is also bringing back Stephen Miller to serve as White House deputy chief of staff for policy during his second term.

Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to jon.brown@christianpost.com

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By Samantha Kamman, Christian Post Reporter Monday, November 11, 2024The church at Amheida, looking northeast. The steps up to the altar can be seen toward the back, plastered in white. | NYU Excavations at Amheida

An archaeological team’s excavation of an ancient city has uncovered “surprising” revelations about an early Christian church in Egypt, specifically, the discovery of 17 human remains and the story the bodies tell.

Experts uncovered the ruins of a church, dated to around the mid-fourth century, during an ongoing archaeological excavation of Trimithis (also known as Amheida), an ancient city near the western edge of the Dakhla Oasis in the western desert. 

The city was once a settlement during Egypt’s Roman period, which started in 30 B.C. and lasted until the Muslim conquest in 641 A.D. New York University’s Institute for the Study of the Ancient World leads the international research team. 

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According to a recent update from NYU, excavation work in Trimithis resumed in 2023 following a seven-year hiatus, a pause exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Experts have continued studying various buildings, inscriptions and bathhouse facilities. 

For Project Director David Ratzan, who also serves as the head of ISAW’s library, the church is one of the most “exciting” discoveries. 

While believers gathered together and worshipped before the Roman Emperor Constantine made it illegal to persecute Christians, Ratzan noted that the design of this particular church stands out. 

“In any case, churches in this style, based on the Roman basilica, a type of public building dedicated to administration and law, date back only to a generation or two before the church at Trimithis, since only then did Christians feel sufficiently confident to build proudly public spaces of worship,” Ratzan stated in the update. 

Even more surprising to experts than the design was the discovery of 17 bodies buried in the church. Twelve of them were buried in crypts underneath what would have been the altar and pastophoria or service rooms. 

Scientists did not expect to learn that seven of the bodies buried in the crypt were female, and eight were children or adolescents, including infants. It is possible that there are more women among the remains, but it is hard to determine a person’s sex from skeletons at a certain age. 

“While there is good evidence that women were important in early Christianity, it was still surprising to find such a concentration of women and children buried in this church, since Roman Egypt was a patriarchal society,” Ratzan stated. .

While the excavation of the church is complete, the project director said that the team still has questions, such as the relationships of the buried individuals and whether they represented most or different types of the Christian community in Trimithis.

“Were these people related to clergy or prominent patrons who helped build and maintain the church?” Ratzan asked. “Are crypts like this typical of churches of this period, or idiosyncratic to the oases?” 

Ratzan confirmed that the team is still studying the 17 human remains discovered in a statement Newsweek published last week. Experts are unable to conduct DNA tests at the moment. They have to wait until the excavation of other churches, with Ratzan speculating that there are indeed more churches in Trimithis.

“For now, though, this is an exciting discovery and one that we expect will make a significant impact on the discussion of the history of early Christianity,” he added.

“And we still have one volume to publish on the church that we are working on now: the small finds and the forensic anthropology of the skeletons.”

Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman

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By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Monday, November 11, 2024Jackie Shroyer (L), 44, has been charged in connection with the murder of her late husband Beau Shroyer (R), in Angola. | YouTube/ lakestv3

Barely a year after the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2021, and shortly before they would jet off to Angola in southern Africa with their five children to do missionary work, Beau Shroyer and his wife, Jackie Shroyer, who was recently charged in connection with his Oct. 25 murder, shared their troubled paths to Jesus and what made them so willing to dive into the mission field not matter the cost.

“We were like, we’ll do it God, we don’t care what it costs. We need to make You known,” Jackie Shroyer recalled about their decision to do ministry work in Angola in a recording of their testimonies shared on YouTube in a video titled, “Why I Believe in Jesus — Beau and Jackie Shroyer.”

Angolan authorities revealed at a press conference last Thursday that Beau Shroyer was found fatally stabbed in a thicket on the outskirts of the municipality of Humpata in Huila province, Voice of America reported.

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Manuel Halaiwa, a spokesperson of the country’s Criminal Investigation Service, said Jackie Shroyer was the mastermind behind a murder for hire plot involving three other men in which her husband was killed. Investigators also allege that Jackie Shroyer was involved in a romantic relationship with one of the men, Bernardino Elias, 24, who worked as a security guard for her family. The two other men have been identified as Isalino Kayoo, 23, and Gelson Ramos, 22.

“There are strong suspicions here of a possibly romantic relationship in relation to the person who ordered the case and her accomplice, the citizen who was initially a guard through a private security company, but who, after ending his contract with this company, was welcomed because he seemed to be a good person very close to the couple and was hired with another salary to serve the couple,” Halaiwa said.

Beau Shroyer was found fatally stabbed inside his vehicle on Oct. 25 in a thicket in the Palanca commune on the outskirts of the municipality of Humpata in the province of Huíla.

Investigators say the missionary’s wife, 44, first asked her alleged lover to kill her late husband, also 44, and he hired the two other men with a promise to pay $50,000 for the murder.

Jackie Shroyer allegedly paid $400 to set the stage for her husband’s murder in a place where he was known to give her driving lessons. The murder was set up to look like a robbery and the guard reportedly paid the other two men $9,000.

The couple were beloved members of the Lakes Area Vineyard Church in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, before moving to Lubango, Angola, to do missionary work under the auspices of SIM USA, a longtime global missionary organization that focuses on doing missionary work in places where it’s difficult to share the Gospel.

When asked for comment on the allegations by Angolan investigators on Friday, SIM USA noted that because the matter is now an ongoing investigation, they wouldn’t comment further.

“In light of an ongoing investigation, SIM USA has no further comment beyond the statement that we have previously provided,” Mark Bosscher, chief personnel officer at SIM USA told The Christian Post in a statement Friday.

In explaining what led them down the path of missionary work, the couple noted that they were searching for love.

Beau Shroyer described being born to teenage parents and experiencing a lot of instability during his early years with a loneliness that haunted him throughout his life before he knew Jesus.

“There was just never a place where I belonged and [I] never had real friends, never really had any real relationships growing up,” he recalled.

The late missionary, who previously worked as a realtor and a police officer, said he would do funny things to get attention and described himself as a goofy guy. He was voted as the class clown in high school and met his wife in college on the party scene.

Jackie Shroyer said she grew up in a Christian home and she got baptized when she was around 10 or 12 years old, but strayed from the faith as a teenager.

“I grew up being a good kid and then when I was a teenager, I think like just that longing and searching for love caught up with me. I started to get into the bad crowd. I started looking for love in all the wrong places and acceptance in all the wrong ways,” she recalled.

“[I] just got into the party scene, got in with the bad crowd. I was having a blast. I loved it, but I never felt loved. I remember being a teenager just coming home after partying and being with friends and just sobbing in bed like, why doesn’t anybody love me?” she recalled. “I just really wanted to be loved for who I was. I was tired of always trying to be something to make people like me and look a certain way.”

She said when she met Beau in college they were just living for themselves, and it continued like that even after they got married.

“We weren’t even really living as a married couple. We loved each other certainly, but we were individuals. We were still just having fun doing whatever we wanted. He was a police officer, so he got busy working and then I became pregnant with our first child,” Jackie Shroyer explained.

When that happened, she said she fell back to her Christian “roots” and tried being a grown-up.

“I feel like it’s time to grow up and do what grown-ups do. When I was a kid we went to church every week. This is what my mom taught us. We do all the church things. I want my kids to be good moral people, so I was like, we’re starting to go to church,” she said.

And they found themselves a church in the Detroit Lakes area “just to be grown up and be around good people.” Beau Shroyer said he wasn’t a fan of church and described how his wife dragged him to participate.

“By our second child I was going to church every week. I was getting the kids into Sunday school and Beau would show up at the last minute. Sometimes he wouldn’t even show up, but he got really busy working as a police officer,” Jackie Shroyer said.

She described how her husband would work at nights and had a lot of “weird hours,” and would also spend time in bowling leagues and doing other fun things in life while she was stuck alone with their children.

“I’m now at home with our two youngest children who are only a year apart. Obviously, that life is done for me. I’ve moved on beyond that and I just remember feeling really alone and sad and lost again,” she recalled. “I know that my husband loves me, and I have a great family, but I still just had this empty feeling of loneliness, and I didn’t even really pray to God or anything like that.”

Jackie Shroyer said she began having conversations with Jesus during her loneliness over time and discovered a new relationship with Him that eventually caught her husband’s attention.

“I remember one day […] looking at Jackie and she physically looked different. Like more happy. I started to realize that when I would do not smart things in a marriage that would normally make her angry and would get in this five-day long fight, she’s not getting upset about this stuff anymore,” Beau Shroyer said.

“I started to think about what’s going on. Like, did she find another man?” he quipped. “I started going through all these things in my head and finally, I got up the courage to ask her what’s up, why are you so happy? Why aren’t we fighting? Why does this stuff that normally bothers you not bother you?”

And that’s when Beau Shroyer said his wife told him about her newfound relationship with Jesus which made him jealous.

“She told me how she has this personal relationship with Jesus, and I got mad. I got jealous. I was like who’s this Jesus dude and how dare He take my wife from me.”

Beau Shroyer said he then went on a journey to learn more about Jesus and became more active in his church before eventually deciding to do missionary work overseas for the first time.

“I set out to find out who He was so that I could defeat Him and get my wife back. I got into the Bible, and I started praying. I realized He’s not against me. He’s for me. Our marriage was always Jackie, the individual, me the individual, married. And you know, trying to do things together but individually. Once Jesus came into our marriage and it was the three of us working together, it was like we don’t have those stupid fights anymore,” Beau Shroyer said.

“We’re one now instead of being two individuals and this is really refreshing that Jesus found her or she found Him and then He found me in the middle of all of the turmoil. I went from being really jealous that she had this love and acceptance that I had always been looking for and now I have it too.”

Contact: leonardo.blair@christianpost.com Follow Leonardo Blair on Twitter: @leoblair Follow Leonardo Blair on Facebook: LeoBlairChristianPost

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By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Monday, November 11, 2024Pastor Greg Locke of Global Vision Bible Church in Mount Juliet, Tenn., apologizes through tears for the way he’s delivered his messages over the years. | Screenshot:Facebook/Greg Locke

After promising to refund the donations of members who questioned the stewardship of his church’s finances, outspoken Tennessee Pastor Greg Locke has reneged on that offer, and his attorney has allegedly threatened at least one donor who asked for their money back.

Locke, who leads the Global Vision Bible Church in Mount Juliet, made the offer during a diatribe against some members of his church during an Oct. 27 service amid a dispute about money donated to the church’s building fund.

“Listen, we got IRS paperwork. We got lawyers. We got a CPA that says we have a squeaky clean book, and you’re like, ‘Well, [why] won’t you show them to me?’ You think I carry them around in my iPhone?” Locke asked.

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“If you’re that worried about it, listen, if you think we abscond with money, then we can look up your giving record, and I’ll give it all back to you tomorrow. No matter how much you’ve ever given to this church, you can have it [because] it’s there. And by the way, every dime that’s ever come in for that building at Love’s Way is still in the bank right now,” he said.

Locke claimed that critical members had falsely accused him of mismanaging and misappropriating funds from the church’s building fund.

The accusations arose as members questioned why the church failed to close on a real estate deal to move the church from its current location at 2060 Old Lebanon Dirt Road in west Wilson County to the Love’s Way Church facility at 310 Coles Ferry Pike in Lebanon.

Locke stated that he was under contract to buy the Love’s Way property for $5.5 million, but the building fund was $5 million short, which he said would require a miracle from God to fulfill. He added that the real estate deal would not go through if God did not provide this miracle.

Love’s Way Pastor Johan McGregor confirmed on Oct. 30 that Global Vision Bible Church could not close on the sale, and they would remain in the building for the next few months.

“The church in Mt. Juliet was unable to close and we will continue to pray for them God’s blessing and favor in the next season,” McGregor said.

Several YouTubers, such as Corey Minor of Smart Christians Life, highlighted that at least one donor to Locke’s ministry sent him an email requesting the return of their donations following his service comments.

“Based on your publicly stated verbal contract on October 27, 2024 (see included video clip), the stipulation for receiving these monies is that we must think that you abscond with money. We therefore state that we think you abscond with money. The conditions to receive all monies back have therefore been met and no further conditions shall be required,” the redacted email from the donor said, in part.

An Oct. 29 response on behalf of Locke from the Rose Firm made it clear to the donor that no refund would be made, and if the donor insisted on trying to recover their donations, the church is prepared to defend itself legally.

“Please be advised that I serve as legal counsel to Global Vision and Pastor Locke. All subsequent communication regarding this matter should be directed exclusively to me. If you continue to attempt communication with Pastor Locke, please be advised that all of those communications will be ignored,” the attorney wrote.

“I have had the opportunity to review and investigate the claims you make in your email. Please be further advised that there is no ‘verbal contract’ as you claim, and Global Vision will not be making any ‘refund,'” the letter noted.

“You should know that if you or your agents choose to pursue this matter, as the church has done with all legal matters, it will aggressively defend all of the church’s interests under Tennessee and federal law to include, but not be limited to, seeking all remedies against you in accordance with the Tennessee Public Participation Law.”

Neither the Rose Firm nor a spokesperson for Global Vision Bible Church immediately responded when contacted for comment by The Christian Post on Tuesday.

In his Oct. 27 comments, Locke suggested that some members of the church accused him and his family of using the church’s money for personal enrichment, including the purchase of new cars and a mansion allegedly worth $1.6 million.

Locke said that he and his wife and daughter had purchased new cars, but they were all financed. He also said that though he had purchased a new house, it was only worth $625,000. He said he paid $1 million for 28 acres of land as a good investment.

“‘Well, you know the reason we’ve not been able to close on Love’s Way is because Pastor Locke stole all the building fund money to buy a $1.6 million house.’ Let me tell you something, not only is that a lie, that is slanderous, and I’m going to tell you why,” Locke said, repeating the allegations from his members against him.

“First of all, I bought a $625,000 house and a million dollars worth of 28 acres. And I remind you, six acres right here cost us $1.2 million three years ago.”

He further noted that the money for his new house came from five businessmen and his personal savings. Locke purchased the new home after a gunman unloaded a garage of bullets into his family’s former home in September. 

Locke also claimed that very little of the $500,000 collected for the church’s building fund actually came from in-person members. He insisted that had it not been for the generosity of his online followers, the church could not survive.

“Before you get too happy about it, let me tell you something: the three largest givers to our building program have been two people online in hubs right now that loaned us $100,000 each for the building and me and my wife,” he said. “Now I’m not shaming you. I’m just telling you so when people make silly accusations [they will know].”

Contact: leonardo.blair@christianpost.com Follow Leonardo Blair on Twitter: @leoblair Follow Leonardo Blair on Facebook: LeoBlairChristianPost

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Homan has called for mass deportations

By Jon Brown, Christian Post Reporter Monday, November 11, 2024Thomas Homan, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, testifies before the House Homeland Security Committee’s Border and Marine Security subcommittee on Capitol Hill on May 22, 2018, in Washington, D.C. Republican House members are calling for reform to asylum processes. | Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images

President-elect Donald Trump announced that former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Tom Homan will serve as “border czar” in his new administration.

“I am pleased to announce that the Former ICE Director, and stalwart on Border Control, Tom Homan, will be joining the Trump Administration, in charge of our Nation’s Borders (‘The Border Czar’), including, but not limited to, the Southern Border, the Northern Border, all Maritime, and Aviation Security,” Trump said in a statement.

“I’ve known Tom for a long time, and there is nobody better at policing and controlling our Borders,” he continued. “Likewise, Tom Homan will be in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin. Congratulations to Tom. I have no doubt he will do a fantastic, and long awaited for, job.”

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Homan is a former police officer and Border Patrol agent who served as executive associate director of enforcement and removal operations for ICE under former President Barack Obama, whose administration set a record for the number of deportations.

Homan resigned from his position as acting director of ICE in the first Trump administration in 2018 after he grew frustrated that the White House wasn’t moving his nomination forward for Senate confirmation, according to The Washington Post.

While he was still in the role under Trump, Homan advocated for a “zero-tolerance” policy toward illegal immigration and became the face of the administration’s controversial family separation policy, which Trump stopped via executive order in 2018 before it was ultimately rescinded by President Joe Biden.

At the National Conservatism Conference in Washington, D.C., earlier this year, Homan pledged to “run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen,” as noted by the New York Post.

“Wait until 2025, no one’s off the table. If you’re here illegally, you better be looking over your shoulder,” he said. “You’ve got my word. Trump comes back in January, I’ll be in his heels coming back, and I will run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.”

Since the announcement of Homan’s new position, clips have gone viral on social media showing him engaging with liberal members of Congress about illegal immigration while he was in the first Trump administration.

In one clip from 2019, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., was reduced to repeatedly slamming her gavel as Homan kept speaking over her to explain how Congress failed to close loopholes to secure the border.

“I’m a taxpayer, you work for me!” Homan said as Jayapal tried to silence him.

Meet the new Border Czar Tom Homan who previously destroyed Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Gaza)

“I’m a taxpayer, you work for me!” pic.twitter.com/065JQYecnH

— Ari Hoffman ???? (@thehoffather) November 11, 2024

In another clip from a House Oversight Committee hearing in 2019, Homan confronted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, R-N.Y., when she grilled him about family separations.

Homan noted that even U.S. citizens are separated from their families when they commit a crime, and that people who have entered the country illegally have also broken the law.

I like Tom Homan.

Watch this clip. It’s from 2019, but more relevant today than it has ever been. @aoc airhead extraordinaire thinking she has a “gotcha” on Homan, who proceeds to humiliate her in real time.

Anybody arrested for breaking the law is “separated” from their… pic.twitter.com/AJjbHJafoA

— Viva Frei (@thevivafrei) November 11, 2024

During an interview on “60 Minutes” last month, Homan suggested a hefty price tag for deportations is “worth it” for national security, and that families “can be deported together.”

During a speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in July, Homan said to illegal immigrants, “You better start packing now, because you’re going home.”

Several prominent figures took to X to congratulate Homan on his appointment, including SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

“Congratulations @RealTomHoman on being given responsibility for enforcing our borders!” Musk tweeted.

Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to jon.brown@christianpost.com

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By Anugrah Kumar, Christian Post Contributor Monday, November 11, 2024The late Minnesota missionary, Beau Shroyer, 44, was killed while serving in Lubango, Angola. | YouTube/Country Faith Church

Angola’s Criminal Investigation Service claims that the murder of an American missionary was orchestrated by his wife in a plot involving an alleged illicit romance and financial promises. Authorities say that Jackie Shroyer, 44, enlisted the help of three Angolan men to kill her husband, Beau Shroyer, in a remote part of the country.

The authorities have alleged that Jackie Shroyer plotted with a security guard at their residence, Bernardino Elias, 24, along with two other men, identified as Isalino Kayoo, 23, and Gelson Ramos, 22, KFGO reported.

According to Superintendent Manuel Halaiwa of the CIS, Jackie had promised the men $50,000 to carry out the killing, as reported by the Angolan Press Agency, Angop. The alleged motive for the crime, authorities say, stemmed from her romantic involvement with Elias and a desire not to leave Angola, where Beau Shroyer was concluding his mission work.

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The details of the alleged crime unfolded as follows, according to DL-Online: the three suspects rented a vehicle on Oct. 25, drove to a remote location and called Beau Shroyer under the pretense of a vehicle breakdown. When Beau arrived to assist, he was stabbed to death, according to statements from Angolan authorities. The murder weapon, described as an American-made knife, was recovered at the scene. Authorities believe the knife was originally gifted by Beau Shroyer to Elias.

Authorities reportedly arrested Jackie Shroyer and Elias four days after the killing. Kayoo was apprehended a few days later, while Ramos remains at large. The suspects have previous criminal histories, including charges related to armed robbery and kidnapping, which have come under scrutiny during the ongoing investigation.

Last week, two of the suspects were presented by authorities in Lubango, the provincial capital, where additional details of the case were released.

Angop reported that Jackie Shroyer had been referred to as the “mastermind” of the murder plot, and that she appeared disingenuous when authorities arrived at the crime scene, allegedly pretending to be distraught. She was notably absent from Lubango during the suspects’ presentation, reportedly for “health reasons.” The CIS has placed Jackie Shroyer and the two suspects in preventive detention under a judge’s orders.

According to Pastor Troy Easton of Lakes Area Vineyard Church, the five Shroyer children are reportedly being “well cared for” since the death of their father and the arrest of their mother.

SIM USA, a North Carolina-based Evangelical organization overseeing Beau Shroyer’s work in Angola, has expressed its heartbreak over the incident. The organization commended Angolan law enforcement for its diligence in investigating the matter and affirmed its support for the ongoing pursuit of justice for Beau Shroyer.

The Shroyers moved to Angola in 2021 with their five children to serve as missionaries with SIM USA. According to the church’s statement, they aimed to teach residents about Christianity and God’s love in a “remote bush village” that has no electricity.

Before their missionary work in Angola, Beau served as a pastor at Lakes Area Vineyard Church and had a background in law enforcement, having worked for the Detroit Lakes Police Department in 2013, according to the Detroit Lakes Tribune. He also worked as a real estate agent prior to moving abroad.

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By Morning Star News, Monday, November 11, 2024Aerial of Juba, the capital of South Sudan, with the river Nile running in the middle. Juba downtown is upper middle close to the river, and the airport can be seen upper left. The picture is from the south to the north. | Getty Images

JUBA, South Sudan — Muslims in Sudan’s River Nile state drove 34 displaced Christians from their homes, sources said.

The Muslim residents of the El Matamah area of Al-Makniya told the Christians of Nuba Mountains ancestry who had fled military conflict in Omdurman, near Khartoum, that they did not want Christians or black people in the area, according to a report on the website of the Sudan’s People Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N).

An area church leader confirmed the SPLM-N account to Morning Star News. Though the Muslim residents initially accused the Christians of stealing livestock and violating Islamic codes, a police officer told the Christians that the residents’ objected to their presence essentially on religious grounds, according to the SPLM-N website. It added that authorities later apprehended the cattle thieves, who were not Christians.

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Initially, about 30 residents showed up at the home of one of the displaced Christian families last month and said they must vacate their houses and leave the area, according to the SPLM-N. Later more than 50 Muslims issued the same demand, and when the Christians refused to leave, some days later an even larger crowd of neighbors arrived and demanded they leave within three days.

“We don’t want you here at all, and we are giving you three days to vacate the house,” one of the residents told them, according to the SPLM-N. “We are not concerned with the law, and we do everything with our own hands. … I am a racist, and I don’t want any black person here.”

The displaced persons asked for police help but received no response, a Christian identified only as Y.M.T. told the SPLM-N. Officers told the Christians that no one had filed any complaints against them. Later the Muslim residents asked police for an expulsion order, which was denied, according to Y.M.T.

When the Muslim residents then went to the public prosecutor seeking an eviction order from the area, the office denied their request due to lack of evidence of any charges, Y.M.T. told the SPLM-N.

The Christians’ appeals for help to other local officials fell on deaf ears.

Muslim resident Barai Khader reportedly demanded that one of the Christians, Darius Yasser Hussein, remove a cross and convert to Islam, according to SPLM-N.

“One of the officers, who asked not to reveal his name to the family, said that the problem was basically religious and had nothing to do with the aforementioned charges,” one of the Christians told SPLM-N.

The Muslim residents on Oct. 19 arrived at the Christians’ homes and forcibly expelled them from Al-Makniya, according to the SPLM-N.

“While we were waiting and following up on the legal procedures, the people of the neighborhood came to us on Saturday, October 19, and expelled and deported us from the Makniya area without protection from any official body in the locality, despite their knowledge of that,” the Christian told the SPLM-N. “We were forcibly displaced for the second time, as half of us went to Shendi [River Nile state], while the other half preferred to return to Omdurman to avoid repeating religious, ethnic and regional discrimination.”

He called on human rights organizations and humanitarian workers to assist them.

“We are in a very bad humanitarian situation, as we have lost our shelter, and we have children, women and the elderly, and we have lost our livelihoods that help us provide for our basic daily needs,” the Christian told the SPLM-N.

In Omdurman, across the Nile River from Khartoum, fighting and shelling between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) continues.

Fighting in Sudan between the paramilitary RSF and the SAF broke out in April 2023. The conflict between the RSF and the SAF, which had shared military rule in Sudan following an October 2021 coup, has terrorized civilians in Khartoum and elsewhere, displacing 11.2 million people within and beyond Sudan’ borders, according to the U.N. Refugee Agency.

The SAF’s Gen. Abdelfattah al-Burhan and his then-vice president, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, were in power when civilian parties in March 2023 agreed on a framework to re-establish a democratic transition the next month, but disagreements over military structure torpedoed final approval.

Burhan sought to place the RSF — a paramilitary outfit with roots in the Janjaweed militias that had helped former strongman Omar al-Bashir put down rebels — under the regular army’s control within two years, while Dagolo would accept integration within nothing fewer than 10 years. The conflict burst into military fighting on April 15, 2023.

Both military leaders have Islamist backgrounds while trying to portray themselves to the international community as pro-democracy advocates of religious freedom.

Christian sites have been targeted since the conflict began.

In Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, Sudan was ranked No. 8, up from No. 10 the previous year, as attacks by non-state actors continued and religious freedom reforms at the national level were not enacted locally.

Sudan had dropped out of the top 10 for the first time in six years when it first ranked No. 13 in the 2021 World Watch List.

Following two years of advances in religious freedom in Sudan after the end of the Islamist dictatorship under Bashir in 2019, the specter of state-sponsored persecution returned with the military coup of Oct. 25, 2021. After Bashir was ousted from 30 years of power in April 2019, the transitional civilian-military government had managed to undo some Sharia (Islamic law) provisions. It outlawed the labeling of any religious group “infidels” and thus effectively rescinded apostasy laws that made leaving Islam punishable by death.

With the Oct. 25, 2021, coup, Christians in Sudan feared the return of the most repressive and harsh aspects of Islamic law. Abdalla Hamdok, who had led a transitional government as prime minister starting in September 2019, was detained under house arrest for nearly a month before he was released and reinstated in a tenuous power-sharing agreement in November 2021.

Hamdock had been faced with rooting out longstanding corruption and an Islamist “deep state” from Bashir’s regime — the same deep state that is suspected of rooting out the transitional government in the Oct. 25, 2021, coup.

The U.S. State Department in 2019 removed Sudan from the list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) that engage in or tolerate “systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom” and upgraded it to a watch list. Sudan had previously been designated as a CPC from 1999 to 2018.

In December 2020, the State Department removed Sudan from its Special Watch List.

The Christian population of Sudan is estimated at 2 million, or 4.5% of the total population of more than 43 million.

Originally published at Morning Star News 

Morning Star News is the only independent news service focusing exclusively on the persecution of Christians. The nonprofit’s mission is to provide complete, reliable, even-handed news in order to empower those in the free world to help persecuted Christians, and to encourage persecuted Christians by informing them that they are not alone in their suffering.

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By Phil Ginn, Monday, November 11, 2024President Joe Biden and former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump participate in the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections at CNN’s studios in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 27, 2024. | ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

Finally, the 2024 election cycle is mercifully in our rearview mirror, and like when you quit beating your head against the wall, it just automatically feels better. There was unquestionably an abundance of pain and angst to go around on both sides of the latest political skirmishes. It certainly seems that there were more than enough vitriolic words and vibes hurled to last a lifetime. No one was immune from attack, and though words are said to never hurt you, the reality is that they do.

But along with the harsh vocabulary of this campaign season, we were also reminded of the hard lesson that assassin’s bullets always create both singular individual physical hurt and collective havoc.

Now that the concessions have been made and the victory speeches are in the books, the call has been made for “a cleanup on aisle four.” Following a campaign filled with negative rhetoric, Vice President Harris’s speech seemed conciliatory enough, and it was coupled with the promise of a peaceful and efficient transfer of power over the course of the next few weeks. At the same time, the mainline media, who became some of the most egregious malefactors in the meadow muffin-slinging contest, still cannot come to grips with the reality that they simply are not relevant anymore. Then there is all the courtroom drama spearheaded against now President-elect Trump and Hunter Biden that is still left to be played out in primetime.

On the other side of the coin, Mr. Trump’s efforts towards victory could in no way be described as the epitome of a “clean campaign” either. Nevertheless, his advance toward reclaiming the White House resulted in what he termed “an unprecedented and powerful mandate.” With the probable end result of over 300 electoral votes and an excess popular vote of around 5 million, it would be hard to argue with his logic in this regard.

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Nevertheless, if the old adage “to the victor belong the spoils” is true, the flipside of that coin also carries with it the responsibilities of governing. Only time will tell if Mr. Trump, a Republican Senate, and a potential Republican House of Representatives can rise to the occasion. Unfortunately, their first attempt back in 2016-2018 did not work out too well for them, which led to a significant Democrat victory in the 2020 midterm elections.

As he should have though, Mr. Trump thanked his supporters and all the American people for “the extraordinary honor of being elected your 47th president and your 45th president.” He also pledged to serve on behalf of “every citizen,” signaling his intention to “fight for you, for your family and your future.” In concluding his speech, Mr. Trump stressed his desire to “put the divisions of the past four years behind us” and “unite,” while at the same time declaring that “success will bring us together” and that “America’s future will be bigger, better, bolder, richer, safer and stronger than it has ever been before.” Trump concluded his remarks by asking “every citizen all across our land to join me in this noble and righteous endeavor.”

Still, yet the question of the possibility of vindictive retribution on the part of Mr. Trump continues to haunt a goodly number of his most ardent enemies including celebrities, media personalities, and political foils from both sides. Despite all of this, Mr. Trump earnestly pledged “to help our country heal.” At least impliedly acknowledging the difficulty of following through on his promises, he noted, “We have a country that needs help, and it needs help very badly.” And indeed, America does!

Far be it for me to claim any special insight into the presidency and its inherent responsibilities. However, quite frankly our nation has been through enough in these past few years from COVID to the present. It is just time, as Ms. Harris would say, “to turn the page.” So, regardless of culpability the country just needs to take a permanent rest from “lawfare” and the derivative persecution of those who happen to be the losers of a political contest. We have to, as the old saying goes, “stop eating our dead.” This kind of activity is simply not becoming a world-class representative democracy.

With this in mind then, here are a few suggestions that I now offer to the Biden administration and President-elect Trump that might just begin to really help our nation heal.

Communicate civilly and transparently with one another and with the country. There can no longer be any need, if there ever was, for hatefulness from either side.Mr. Biden, pardon Mr. Trump for any and all federal prosecutions now pending or under investigation and encourage Democratic state authorities to cease any state prosecutions as well.Mr. Trump immediately pledge to pardon Hunter Biden for any federal prosecutions now pending or under investigation. Further pledge to not seek prosecution against Mr. Biden or Ms. Harris for any activities during the current administration.Mr. Trump, just ignore the irascible talking heads of the frontline media — they are nothing more than empty shells anyway when it comes to importance or significance.Everyone just needs to get over themselves and start to put our nation and its people above self-interest or political party.Stop all the games and start governing to meet all the great problems facing our country, not the least of which is out-of-control spending for no particularly good reason.Finally, and most importantly, I would urge leaders of every stripe and at every level to seek wisdom from the creator God upon whose bosom our government was born and from whom we, as a people, have received these “certain unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of justice.”

Interestingly, Mr. Trump thankfully acknowledged in his acceptance speech, as he has on numerous occasions, that the assassination attempt on his life that resulted in a bloody wound on his ear was a situation in which God spared his life for a reason. Specifically, he identified the reason as being to “save our country and to restore America to greatness.”

In considering this thought, I am reminded of another battle in another valley long ago, and I recall the words of a young shepherd boy who went out to fight a seemingly impossible battle with a giant. As David approached Goliath, he knew that the Lord would spare him in the coming conflict and that there was a clear reason for His doing so. First Samuel 17:46-47 recites the purpose of David’s protection so that “the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword or spear.”

Mr. President and Mr. President-elect, the battle for the heart and soul of America is not in your hands, nor is it in the control of any political party or cause. If there is to be unity in this nation that we love, it will only be because America turns its heart to the one and true God of all the earth and not simply because we want America to be great. Then, and only then, will America prosper so that the world will know once again that there is a God who protects and provides for our nation not with a sword or spear, but by His might.

In the end, it is this Gospel message that is the only truth that matters.

After a distinguished career as both a lawyer and a judge, Judge Phil Ginn retired as the Senior Resident Superior Court Judge for the 24th Judicial District in North Carolina. Over the course of his 22-year judicial career, he was privileged to hold court in almost 50% of the county seats in North Carolina. Currently, Judge Ginn serves as the president of Southern Evangelical Seminary.

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By Robin Schumacher, Exclusive Columnist Monday, November 11, 2024iStock/Javier_Art_Photography

When it comes to belief in God, I’ve got both good and bad news for you.

The good news is, according to Pew Research, “About nine-in-ten U.S. adults believe in God or another higher power, including 54% who say they believe in “God as described in the Bible” and 34% who say they don’t believe in the biblical depiction of God but do believe there is “some other higher power or spiritual force in the universe.”

So, what could possibly be bad about those numbers?  While they initially look good, we need to remember two things.

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First, think about the sad state our country is in right now; it sure doesn’t seem like Christian values are large and in charge. So don’t get too proud or excited about superficial professions of belief in God and remember the biblical warning: “This people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Matt. 15:8; Is. 29:13).  

Second, recall what Jesus said about the number of those who spend eternal life with God: “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matt. 7:14).

So, how do we reconcile Christ’s statement with the numbers showing that the vast majority of Americans and others around the world profess a belief in God or a higher power?

The Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas recommended that the first rule any philosopher should follow in pursuing truth was to make distinctions. In our case, it’s this: there is a Grand Canyon difference between believing in God and believing God.   

The twinning nature of faith

As Christians, we talk about “faith” in God constantly, oftentimes never realizing there is a twinning nature to the word. Taking Aquinas’ advice again, when it comes to faith, we find a distinction between faith that vs. faith in.

When we see statistics saying nearly nine in ten U.S. adults believe in God, we see a very loose example of faith that. But the disconnect between it and Jesus telling us only a few find the way that leads to life is faith in.

You see both intertwined in a statement made by the writer of Hebrews when he says, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is [faith that] and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him [faith in]” (Heb. 11:6).

We first have faith that “He is,” which applies to God’s existence, but then comes the next part that pertains to trusting God and what He has said. This is what distinguishes the Christian from those who merely say they believe God exists or in a “higher power.” 

As a quick aside, skeptics constantly chide Christians about having “faith” in God, thinking we mean some sort of blind, evidence-less belief that a creator exists when nothing could be further from the truth — there are plenty of rational reasons to believe God is real.

Most times when Christians refer to “faith in” God we mean trusting in what God has said and promised. And there are good reasons for having that side of faith also.

For example, when I say I have faith in my wife, I’m sure you don’t think I’m saying I believe in her existence, but rather I trust and believe in her character and what she says. And you understand that I have good reasons for that faith although I most likely can’t physically show you evidence supporting that trust.

When it comes to the important and practical difference between the two, have you ever encountered someone who said they believed in God but said in the same breath they don’t believe what the Bible says on most subjects? If so, you’ve got a living illustration of the distinction between believing in God vs. believing God.

Scripture is littered with examples and warnings of having only the first side of the faith coin.

James says, “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder” (James 2:19). So, you believe in God, even the one true God? Great — you’re now only on par with the faith of demons, and that won’t get you far.

This is why James follows up by writing, “But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?” (James 2:20). In other words, faith that without faith in, which manifests in a changed life, is only half of the story.  

The Pharisees certainly believed in the correct God, and yet Jesus said to them: “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of Hell?” (Matt. 23:33). Why? Because they rejected what Christ was telling them about His Messiahship.

The Bible says that not believing what God says is an indicator of those who are lost. For example, Jesus asked his detractors: “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word” (John 8:43) and followed up by saying, “He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason, you do not hear them, because you are not of God” (John 8:47).

What about you? Do you hear and believe the words of God?

If so, Paul says you’re following the model of faith in the Old Testament: “For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’” (Rom. 4:3) and “Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham” (Gal. 3:7).

But if not, you likely only have faith that God exists, which falls short of saving faith and is exemplified by the awful words that Jesus says some will hear on the day of judgment: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’” (Matt. 7:21–23).

Please, don’t be someone who just believes in God, but rather be a person that believes God. According to Jesus, your eternal destiny depends on it.  

Robin Schumacher is an accomplished software executive and Christian apologist who has written many articles, authored and contributed to several Christian books, appeared on nationally syndicated radio programs, and presented at apologetic events. He holds a BS in Business, Master’s in Christian apologetics and a Ph.D. in New Testament. His latest book is, A Confident Faith: Winning people to Christ with the apologetics of the Apostle Paul.

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