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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.
# TCP Daily Jul 29, 2026
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falih al-Zaidi has urged Christians who fled the country to return, promising housing opportunities and calling them vital partners in rebuilding Iraq. However, Christian leaders and activists remain skeptical, arguing that the government has yet to address the underlying causes of the mass exodus, including insecurity, discrimination, corruption, lack of jobs, property disputes, and lingering trauma from ISIS’ 2014 campaign of violence. Church leaders, including Chaldean Patriarch Paul III Nona and Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Nicodemus Daoud Matti Sharaf, said that while conditions have improved since ISIS was defeated in 2017, restoring trust, protecting Christian property, creating economic opportunities, and ensuring long-term stability are essential before large numbers of Christians will consider returning. Iraq’s Christian population has fallen from about 1.5 million in 2003 to fewer than 250,000 today, and ongoing disputes over Church-owned land have further fueled doubts about the government’s commitment to protecting the country’s historic Christian communities.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/iraqi-pm-calls-on-christians-to-return-after-genocide-questioned.html
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A fire station in Diamond, Missouri, has taken down a Christian flag following a legal demand letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The Madison, Wisconsin-based atheist group had demanded that the Diamond Area Fire Protection District remove the banner — mostly white with a blue square and red cross — from outside its building. A district spokesperson confirmed the flag was removed, declining further comment, and the department posted on Facebook that the flag "has been taken down in compliance with constitutional law." FFRF staff attorney Samantha Lawrence wrote to Fire Chief Rebecca Dunn, saying a complainant found the display "exclusionary," and arguing the flag "has unfortunately become heavily associated with white Christian nationalism and the January 6, 2021 insurrection." FFRF distinguished the case from the Supreme Court's 2022 Shurtleff v. Boston ruling, calling the display government speech.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/missouri-city-removes-christian-flag-from-fire-station.html
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U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch said the United States was founded as a “creedal nation” united by shared principles—not by a single race or religion—arguing that the nation’s founding ideals of religious freedom, free speech, and equality under the law are what bind Americans together. In a PBS interview discussing his new children’s book, Gorsuch pointed to the religious diversity present at the nation’s founding, citing figures such as Catholic Declaration signer Charles Carroll, as well as the Amish and Quakers, to argue that America was never intended to be defined by one faith. While acknowledging Christianity’s influence on the founding—particularly the belief that human rights come from God rather than government—he emphasized that the First Amendment rejected an established national religion. Gorsuch also highlighted the reconciliation of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams as an example of how shared commitment to America’s founding principles can overcome deep political differences. His remarks follow criticism from some conservative commentators, including writers at *The Federalist*, who argued that American identity is rooted primarily in its English and Christian cultural heritage rather than a shared civic creed.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/neil-gorsuch-says-us-was-not-founded-to-be-about-one-religion.html
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A taxpayer-funded exhibition in the United Kingdom is stirring controversy for portraying the beloved children's Care Bears as LGBT role models with what it calls "queer resonance." The project, titled "Villiers Revealed," was created by Culture Leicestershire with public funding from Arts Council England, and singles out Funshine Bear — written as female in 1980s cartoons but later depicted as male — as a possible "symbol for the LGBTQA+ community." The exhibit claims, "Having a character like Funshine who transitions, with a positive characterisation, sends a strong message to those going through a similar change," and says the bears "disrupt gender norms." Other sections discuss mermaids' gender expression and colonialism's "suppression of queerness." Arts Council England responded that recipients are "fully responsible for their operations, artistic programme," noting Leicestershire County Council receives roughly 261,000 pounds annually.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/childrens-care-bear-character-hailed-as-transgender-in-exhibit.html
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Four years after a scandal toppled his Chattanooga megachurch, former Venue Church Pastor Tavner Smith is back in the pulpit — and asking for money. Smith planted Hope House Church in the back of a North Georgia warehouse in October 2024, and according to the church's website it has grown from 17 members to more than 300 in its first year, with a community Halloween event drawing over 24,000 people. The congregation now meets under a tent in Rossville, Georgia, while it renovates a leased building. "We are on a massive, fast-paced mission to raise $60,000 in just 24 hours to get us into our building in August," Smith wrote on Instagram. Venue Church collapsed into foreclosure and bankruptcy after Smith admitted to an "inappropriate relationship" with a staffer, telling members, "I've wounded people, and I've caused devastation that I know I can never take back."
https://www.christianpost.com/news/tavner-smith-fundraising-for-new-church-building-after-bankruptcy.html
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A well-known Virginia pastor has been removed from ministry after being charged with sending sexually explicit images to a teenage boy. Crossroads Baptist Church in Baileys Crossroads announced Sunday that Pastor Kenny Baldwin was "removed from all ministry responsibilities," and that the church is "cooperating fully with the appropriate authorities." Baldwin faces charges in York County, Pennsylvania, including two felony counts of unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of a minor, indecent exposure and open lewdness. He was released on $80,000 unsecured bail, with a preliminary hearing set for August 10th. Investigators say Baldwin met the boy at a Warrington Township church in 2024 and later admitted sending 15 explicit photos. Veritas Baptist College revoked his board position, calling the alleged conduct "reprehensible, sinful." Pensacola Christian College also distanced itself. Baldwin gained national attention in 2020 after surviving COVID-19.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/virginia-pastor-removed-from-ministry-over-explicit-photos.html
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Eastern Orthodox author and commentator Rod Dreher says his friendships with Vice President JD Vance and Tucker Carlson are over, after he warned them about the rising influence of far-right podcaster Nick Fuentes. Speaking on "The Jeremy Boreing Show" about his forthcoming book "Weimar America," Dreher said he visited Vance late last fall and told him "the Fuentes', the groypers, all of them — are going to destroy conservatism in the Republican Party," adding, "I don't think we're friends anymore; he cut me off." Dreher also claimed he connected Carlson with two exorcists after Carlson's alleged 2023 demonic attack, but Carlson declined, saying, "I'm too Protestant for that. This seems like witchcraft to me." Critics including Jack Posobiec, Eric Sammons, Calvin Robinson and Sean Davis blasted Dreher's remarks as distasteful gatekeeping.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/rod-dreher-says-jd-vance-tucker-carlson-cut-him-off-over-fuentes.html
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A fire station in Diamond, Missouri, has taken down a Christian flag following a legal demand letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The Madison, Wisconsin-based atheist group had demanded that the Diamond Area Fire Protection District remove the banner — mostly white with a blue square and red cross — from outside its building. A district spokesperson confirmed the flag was removed, declining further comment, and the department posted on Facebook that the flag "has been taken down in compliance with constitutional law." FFRF staff attorney Samantha Lawrence wrote to Fire Chief Rebecca Dunn, saying a complainant found the display "exclusionary," and arguing the flag "has unfortunately become heavily associated with white Christian nationalism and the January 6, 2021 insurrection." FFRF distinguished the case from the Supreme Court's 2022 Shurtleff v. Boston ruling, calling the display government speech.
A taxpayer-funded exhibition in the United Kingdom is stirring controversy for portraying the beloved children's Care Bears as LGBT role models with what it calls "queer resonance." The project, titled "Villiers Revealed," was created by Culture Leicestershire with public funding from Arts Council England, and singles out Funshine Bear — written as female in 1980s cartoons but later depicted as male — as a possible "symbol for the LGBTQA+ community." The exhibit claims, "Having a character like Funshine who transitions, with a positive characterisation, sends a strong message to those going through a similar change," and says the bears "disrupt gender norms." Other sections discuss mermaids' gender expression and colonialism's "suppression of queerness." Arts Council England responded that recipients are "fully responsible for their operations, artistic programme," noting Leicestershire County Council receives roughly 261,000 pounds annually.
Four years after a scandal toppled his Chattanooga megachurch, former Venue Church Pastor Tavner Smith is back in the pulpit — and asking for money. Smith planted Hope House Church in the back of a North Georgia warehouse in October 2024, and according to the church's website it has grown from 17 members to more than 300 in its first year, with a community Halloween event drawing over 24,000 people. The congregation now meets under a tent in Rossville, Georgia, while it renovates a leased building. "We are on a massive, fast-paced mission to raise $60,000 in just 24 hours to get us into our building in August," Smith wrote on Instagram. Venue Church collapsed into foreclosure and bankruptcy after Smith admitted to an "inappropriate relationship" with a staffer, telling members, "I've wounded people, and I've caused devastation that I know I can never take back."
A well-known Virginia pastor has been removed from ministry after being charged with sending sexually explicit images to a teenage boy. Crossroads Baptist Church in Baileys Crossroads announced Sunday that Pastor Kenny Baldwin was "removed from all ministry responsibilities," and that the church is "cooperating fully with the appropriate authorities." Baldwin faces charges in York County, Pennsylvania, including two felony counts of unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of a minor, indecent exposure and open lewdness. He was released on $80,000 unsecured bail, with a preliminary hearing set for August 10th. Investigators say Baldwin met the boy at a Warrington Township church in 2024 and later admitted sending 15 explicit photos. Veritas Baptist College revoked his board position, calling the alleged conduct "reprehensible, sinful." Pensacola Christian College also distanced itself. Baldwin gained national attention in 2020 after surviving COVID-19.
Eastern Orthodox author and commentator Rod Dreher says his friendships with Vice President JD Vance and Tucker Carlson are over, after he warned them about the rising influence of far-right podcaster Nick Fuentes. Speaking on "The Jeremy Boreing Show" about his forthcoming book "Weimar America," Dreher said he visited Vance late last fall and told him "the Fuentes', the groypers, all of them — are going to destroy conservatism in the Republican Party," adding, "I don't think we're friends anymore; he cut me off." Dreher also claimed he connected Carlson with two exorcists after Carlson's alleged 2023 demonic attack, but Carlson declined, saying, "I'm too Protestant for that. This seems like witchcraft to me." Critics including Jack Posobiec, Eric Sammons, Calvin Robinson and Sean Davis blasted Dreher's remarks as distasteful gatekeeping.
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