The following is a portion of a front-page article that ran in the Cleveland (Tenn.) Daily Banner on Sunday, February 2, 2020 following the January 31 announcement regarding the selection of Mark Walker as the next president of Lee University.

In their latest tactic aimed at oppressing people of faith, Chinese authorities have now started banning Christian funerals.

According to a report in Bitter Winter, communist officials have even been arresting family members and halting proceedings mid-service if they deem the ceremony to be too religious in nature. The action is part of China’s wider policy to sinicize the Christian faith and ensure the country’s religious culture is aligned with the political ideals of President Xi Jinping.

“The situation is quite adverse, and some believers don’t even dare to accompany the deceased to the graveyard,” an elder of a government-sanctioned Three-Self church explained to Bitter Winter.

The restrictions are also being enshrined in law. For example, in one city in the province of Henan, an ordinance has been passed that prohibits “visiting groups, choirs, orchestras, and other groups” from performing anywhere other than a church.

“The government prohibits religious funerals, and doesn’t allow church choirs or orchestras to perform during them,” the church elder added. “Pastors can only sneak into believers’ homes for a hurried prayer.”

In another Henan town, a law was passed that prevents ministers from “using religion to intervene in citizens’ weddings and funerals or other activities in their lives.”

There was even an instance of police officers halting the funeral of a local preacher because they deemed that the service was proliferating “religious propaganda.”

The family of one Christian man said they were outraged when government officials instructed that they must hold a secular funeral, even though he was a faithful follower of Jesus for years.

“When my father died, village officials threatened to arrest us if we didn’t conduct a secular funeral. We did not dare to go against them,” the villager explained. “My father had been a believer for several decades. He is persecuted even after death.”

Open Doors USA estimates that there are roughly 100 million Christians currently residing in China. Despite it being one of the harshest environments on earth in which to live as a believer, the underground church continues to explode in numbers.

(Source: FaithWire)

Is the ongoing global war on terror the greatest risk to national security for the United States of America? Or is the current culture war being waged on US soil an equally perilous threat? Did the 2015 constitutional Marriage Amendment simply open a door that legitimized same-sex marriage, or was it another milestone in a well-conceived plot to radically reorder American society?

Cleveland, TN—The Lee University Board of Directors has named Dr. Mark L. Walker its next president to succeed Dr. Paul Conn later this year.

Results and analyses from the Global Ministry Forums which took place last year at two dozen locations around the world, have been made available through the Church of God Ministry Reporting portal.

Cleveland, TN–Buy A Tree. Change A Life. (BATCAL) recently presented a check for $7,882.38 to Tori Livesay, president of Backyard Ministries, a student ministry of Lee University.

In a 2006 interview with Stephen A. Smith asked Kobe Bryant what he learned after what was likely one of the lowest times in his life and career. The NBA legend replied with three words: “God is great.”

The weekend of April 18 – 19, 2020 has been designated as the 30th Annual “Just Pray NO!” to drugs Worldwide Weekend of Prayer and Fasting for the addicted and their families.

The upcoming Church of God Smoky Mountain Gathering is continually evolving as artists and plans solidify for the 30th annual event set for April 28-30, 2020 at the Gatlinburg, Tennessee Convention Center.