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CP Daily distills the most essential Christian news of the day, recapping compelling headlines and important stories. The show, which runs weekday mornings, offers news and analysis from across denominational lines, exploring the award-winning faith, cultural and political content published each day by The Christian Post. Tune in to "CP Daily" on your favorite podcast platforms.
A former Ukrainian Catholic priest is facing charges he stole more than $740,000 from churches, the Knights of Columbus, and his own mother. Sixty-nine-year-old Gregory Allen Madeya, now a Florida resident, awaits extradition to Pennsylvania on counts including financial exploitation of an older adult, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, theft, and access device fraud. Authorities say the thefts began in 2018, with more than $230,000 taken from his mother's investment accounts while he served as her power of attorney — leading to her eviction from multiple nursing homes for nonpayment. Investigators found church collection envelopes in his trash, and say he bought a Ford Mustang and sold a gold chalice. Attorney General Dave Sunday called it "unconscionable to see a supposed man of God exploiting not only the churches he served, but his own mother." The Eparchy of St. Josaphat, which suspended Madeya in February 2024, says it's cooperating fully and asks for prayers.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/ex-priest-charged-with-stealing-over-740k-from-churches-his-mom.html
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Twenty-five years after the September 11th attacks, retired Navy SEAL Commander Craig Powell says looking back leaves him with one dominant emotion. "It's more gratitude than anything else," Powell said. "Gratitude that I got to live, gratitude that I got to appreciate my children, gratitude that I got to help." Powell had been at the Pentagon just six days when American Airlines Flight 77 struck on September 11th, 2001. He searched damaged sections for survivors and helped receive people escaping through windows, among them Lieutenant Colonel Marilyn Wills — who he assumed had died. "I thought she was dead on the day that that event happened," he said. The two reunite in National Geographic's three-part docuseries "9/11 Reunited," premiering August 21st, streaming afterward on Disney+ and Hulu.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/navy-seal-who-rescued-911-victims-reflects-on-gratitude.html
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Hundreds of church leaders are preparing to weigh in on artificial intelligence and faith. Two United Methodist Church agencies — Discipleship Ministries and United Methodist Communications — are hosting the third annual AI & Church Summit from August 24th through the 27th, online and in Nashville, with roughly 75 in-person attendees and more than 300 registered virtually. This year's theme is human agency. C. Blake Davis, executive director of Marketing and Delivery at Discipleship Ministries, says the summit asks, "How do we ensure that human beings remain responsible participants in decisions affecting our work, relationships, communities and faith?" He calls AI "a tool with great potential for good and harm," and hopes participants "leave better equipped to move beyond both uncritical enthusiasm and reflexive fear." Barna research finds about 60% of church leaders already use AI personally at least monthly.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/hundreds-to-attend-ecumenical-gathering-on-ai-and-human-agency.html
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Tennessee pastor Greg Locke says federal agents raided his home in a pre-dawn operation, telling his Global Vision Bible Church congregation in Lebanon that roughly 50 to 60 agents used a battering ram to force entry around 6 a.m. "For three hours, they served us two search warrants. One for our house, one for Locke Media, and then a subpoena for the church building," Locke said. He added the church lost its banking: "the bank said, 'Sorry, all of your accounts are canceled immediately.'" The raid came weeks into a sabbatical Locke took after his 20-year-old son Evan died of a drug overdose in May. No charges have been filed against Locke or his wife, Tai, who oversees church finances. The FBI denies involvement; Wilson County Sheriff Robert Bryan confirmed the IRS took part, with prosecutors saying they cannot legally comment on an ongoing investigation reportedly covering records back to 2020.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/church-raids-and-the-law-a-look-at-federal-invest.html
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Child Evangelism Fellowship of Vermont has fired its state director after federal prosecutors charged him with distributing child sexual abuse material. Andrew Buzzell, a 34-year-old West Rutland resident and elder at Green Mountain Baptist Church, was "immediately terminated as the state director," the Vermont board said, adding, "This situation grieves the Board of Directors but this action had to be taken to ensure the integrity of our mission to reach children within our state with the gospel of Christ." The board noted the FBI said the alleged activity occurred on Buzzell's personal time and devices. Prosecutors say he shared files through a messaging app in 2024 and later solicited images of a purported nine-year-old girl from an undercover FBI employee. Buzzell was ordered to 24-hour home incarceration and faces up to 20 years in prison. His church unanimously voted to remove him from leadership and membership, saying it is "fully cooperating with law enforcement."
https://www.christianpost.com/news/child-evangelism-fellowship-fires-director-facing-charges.html
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Italian authorities are moving to discipline four custodians who were on duty when thieves stole four Renaissance works attributed to 15th-century painter Antonello da Messina from the Museo Regionale di Messina in Sicily. According to Italy's ANSA news agency, proceedings will begin once the Sicilian Regional Department for Cultural Heritage receives a report from museum director Marisa Mercurio — with dismissal the harshest possible penalty. Investigators suspect an inside job. The heist occurred Saturday night, around 9:50 p.m., during the La Vara procession marking the Feast of the Assumption. Thieves smashed display cases, bypassed alarms and were inside less than three minutes, taking panels from the Polittico di San Gregorio. Mercurio called it "a great loss for the museum, for the city, the community, and the art world." The works are valued between $81 million and $92 million. Art-crime analyst Lynda Albertson warned, "Stealing an Antonello may be far easier than selling one."
https://www.christianpost.com/news/custodians-facing-disciplinary-action-after-sicilian-museum-heist.html
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More than two decades after "Flywheel" launched their filmmaking ministry, Alex and Stephen Kendrick are revisiting the story that started it all. "Flywheel: Ignition of the Soul," a Brazilian reimagining set in Rio de Janeiro and filmed in Portuguese, hits U.S. theaters October 16, dubbed in English. The project grew out of the surprise success of the Kendricks' 2024 film "The Forge" in Brazil, where they later trained about 65 aspiring Christian filmmakers at a weeklong boot camp. "Twenty years ago, 'Flywheel' was our first movie. We didn't really know what we were doing production-wise," Alex Kendrick said, adding the original still sold over a million DVDs. Now, he says, success means faithfulness, not fame: "Success is me bearing fruit that God wants me to bear." A companion Bible study arrives October 6.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/alex-kendrick-on-resisting-pursuit-of-his-own-glory.html