In the upcoming January 2015 term, the Pentecostal Theological Seminary will offer a one week intensive about Islamic culture and the Muslim religion taught by Professor Jerry McNabb. The 40 hour course will cover history, theology, culture and how to share faith with Muslim neighbors.

At the beginning of this month, two Pakistani Christians—a husband and his pregnant wife—were beaten for three days, stoned by an angry mob and dragged behind a vehicle. Finally they were thrown into a brick kiln and burned alive. The crime: Shahzad Masih, 28, and Shama Bibi, 25, were falsely accused of desecrating a copy of the Quran.

Like so many others Monday (Nov. 24) night, the congregants at West Side Missionary Baptist Church were glued to televisions as a grand jury decision in the Michael Brown case was announced.

Editor’s note: The preceding is the proclamation that set the precedent for America’s national day of Thanksgiving. During his administration, President Lincoln issued many orders similar to this. For example, on November 28, 1861, he ordered government departments closed for a local day of thanksgiving.

In the wake of Monday night’s announcement of the grand jury decision that Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson would not be indicted for the August 9 shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown Jr. and the subsequent indications of protest, Church of God General Overseer Mark Williams called for a calm, reasoned, and prayerful response.

The decision not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson will further divide our communities and saddens us as leaders of nearly three dozen of our region’s congregations, faith and ethical communities.

On behalf of Stella’s Voice, family owned company K-Vac Environmental Services, Inc. and K-Pure Waterworks, Inc. located in Rancho Cucamonga, has stepped up to rescue 4 girls from human traffickers in the country of Moldova as a sponsor of RescueFest14. RescueFest14 is a New Year’s Eve benefit show featuring the popular Christian band Kutless, in which all benefits go to help save orphans from Human Trafficking in Moldova to be held at Seacoast Grace Church in Cypress, CA.

The most popular book of all time may be celebrating a bit of a renaissance. Thanksgiving Day marks the first anniversary of the Bible App for Kids, developed by YouVersion in partnership with OneHope. The app has been downloaded in 200+ countries and nearly 5 million times.

Chaplains have the privilege of ministering in a variety of settings in society that are not governed by the Church of God Book of Minutes. Though many institutions where Church of God Chaplains serve will never be a department of the church, none of these institutions begin to approach the evil that permeated Caesar’s household. Yet, Paul makes special emphasis in his letter to the Philippians to acknowledge the saints that lived, worked, and served there.