Exploring faith with Trumpnews International

Welcome to Trumpnews International's faith section, where we explore events, ideas, and cultural issues connected to religions around the world. We aim to foster understanding of how diverse belief systems influence societies, history, and current events. Join us as we delve into the world of faith, encouraging reflection and a deeper understanding of its role in our lives.

Christian Author Philip Yancey Retires After Disclosing Eight-Year Affair

January 2026

Renowned Christian author and longtime Christianity Today contributor Philip Yancey has announced his retirement from writing, speaking, and public ministry after disclosing that he engaged in an extramarital affair for eight years with a married woman.

In an emailed statement to Christianity Today (CT), Yancey, 76, acknowledged the relationship and described it as a grave moral and spiritual failure. He said he chose to share the information because of his “longstanding relationship with CT,” where he worked for decades as a reporter, columnist, and editor-at-large.

“To my great shame, I confess that for eight years I willfully engaged in a sinful affair with a married woman,” Yancey wrote. “My conduct defied everything that I believe about marriage. It was also totally inconsistent with my faith and my writings and caused deep pain for her husband and both of our families.”

Yancey said he has confessed his actions to God and to his wife, Janet Yancey, and has committed to professional counseling and an accountability program. He said he would not provide further details out of respect for the other family involved.

“I have failed morally and spiritually, and I grieve over the devastation I have caused,” he wrote. “Worst of all, my sin has brought dishonor to God.”

As a result, Yancey said he is stepping away permanently from public ministry.

“Having disqualified myself from Christian ministry, I am therefore retiring from writing, speaking, and social media,” he said. “Instead, I need to spend my remaining years living up to the words I have already written.”

Yancey’s wife, Janet, also issued a statement acknowledging the personal toll of the revelation while affirming her commitment to their marriage of more than 55 years.

“I am speaking from a place of trauma and devastation that only people who have lived through betrayal can understand,” she said. “Yet I made a sacred and binding marriage vow 55½ years ago, and I will not break that promise.”

She added that she accepts Christian teachings on forgiveness and asked for prayers as she seeks grace to forgive amid what she described as “unfathomable trauma.”

Yancey began his writing career in 1971 at Campus Life magazine, which later became part of Christianity Today. Over more than five decades, he became one of the most influential voices in evangelical Christianity, authoring more than two dozen books that have collectively sold over 15 million copies. His best-known works include What’s So Amazing About Grace?, The Jesus I Never Knew, and Where Is God When It Hurts?, often focusing on faith amid suffering and doubt.

In 2023, Yancey disclosed that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, writing candidly about the progression of the illness and the challenges it posed for him and his wife as caregiver. Despite his declining health, he had continued to accept limited speaking engagements.

Yancey had been scheduled to speak this week at Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena, California, during a service marking the one-year anniversary of the devastating Eaton fire. The church no longer lists him as a featured speaker, and his social media accounts appear to have been deleted.

Yancey concluded his statement by asking for forgiveness and prayer.

“I am filled with remorse and repentance, and I have nothing to stand on except God’s mercy and grace,” he wrote. “I pray for healing in the lives of those I’ve wounded.”

How Do We Lead Without Manipulating?


January 7, 2026

Christian leadership has always carried moral weight. Those entrusted with influence—pastors, elders, ministry leaders, and teachers—shape not only decisions but consciences, faith journeys, and lives. Yet in recent years, painful revelations across the global church have forced an uncomfortable question back into the spotlight: How do we lead faithfully without manipulating those we serve?

This question resurfaced for me recently after a conversation with a fellow Christian leader who shared how subtle pressure, spiritual language, and unspoken expectations had left lasting harm in their community. Nothing overtly abusive occurred. No rules were broken. And yet, people were wounded.

It reminded me that manipulation in ministry is rarely loud. It often whispers.

Manipulation Versus Godly Influence

The Bible draws a clear distinction between godly leadership and coercive control. Jesus himself warned against spiritual domination, contrasting kingdom leadership with worldly power:

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them… Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.” (Matthew 20:25–26)

Manipulation seeks compliance. Christlike leadership seeks transformation.

Manipulation pressures people into decisions through fear, guilt, shame, or spiritual leverage—often cloaked in phrases like “God told me,” “If you really trusted God,” or “True obedience looks like this.” Godly influence, by contrast, invites discernment, honors conscience, and leaves room for disagreement without punishment.

The apostle Paul modeled this restraint. Writing to the Corinthian church, he insisted:

“Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy.” (2 Corinthians 1:24)

Paul recognized that faith cannot be forced—not even for good outcomes.

When Ministry Crosses a Line

Christian manipulation often emerges from good intentions: protecting the church, preserving unity, achieving spiritual growth, or advancing mission. But Scripture repeatedly warns that ends never justify unholy means.

Peter, addressing church elders, issued a sober command:

“Be shepherds of God’s flock… not pursuing dishonest gain, not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.” (1 Peter 5:2–3)

Shepherds guide; they do not drive.

Manipulation frequently shows up in ministry through:

  • Withholding information to control outcomes

  • Spiritualizing personal preferences

  • Threatening loss of belonging for dissent

  • Using Scripture selectively to silence questions

  • Confusing obedience to leaders with obedience to God

Such practices may produce short-term results, but they hollow out trust and damage faith over time.

The Role of Consent and Conscience

Biblical leadership honors human agency. From Eden onward, God permits real choice—even when it risks rebellion. Love, Scripture teaches, must be freely given.

Paul’s letter to Philemon offers a powerful example. Though Paul had apostolic authority, he refused to compel Philemon to act:

“I could be bold and order you… yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love.” (Philemon 8–9)

True authority does not fear refusal.

Healthy Christian leadership creates space for:

  • Questions without punishment

  • Boundaries without retaliation

  • “No” without spiritual consequences

Where consent disappears, spiritual abuse begins.

Jesus: The Anti-Manipulative Leader

Jesus never manipulated. He invited. He warned. He walked away when crowds sought spectacle rather than surrender.

When many disciples abandoned him after a difficult teaching, Jesus did not chase or guilt them. Instead, he turned to the Twelve and asked:

“You do not want to leave too, do you?” (John 6:67)

Even loyalty was left uncoerced.

At the cross—the moment of ultimate authority—Jesus chose sacrifice over control. His leadership flowed downward, not inward.

A Call to Repentance and Reformation

In an age when church scandals and leadership failures dominate headlines, the credibility of Christian witness depends not merely on doctrinal correctness but on moral integrity.

Repentance in ministry must go beyond individual misconduct to examine systems that reward control, discourage dissent, or conflate loyalty with holiness.

Churches and organizations can begin reform by:

  • Practicing shared leadership and accountability

  • Encouraging independent discernment

  • Welcoming feedback without defensiveness

  • Separating spiritual authority from personal power

  • Centering leadership around service, not outcomes

As Jesus taught:

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35)

Leading Like Christ

To lead without manipulating is to trust the Holy Spirit more than our strategies. It is to believe that God does not need coercion to accomplish His will.

Christian leadership is not about managing behavior—it is about forming souls.

The question, then, is not merely “Are people following us?”
But rather, “Are we following Christ?”

EU Top Court Rules Member States Must Recognise Same-Sex Marriages from Other EU Countries; Evangelical Leaders Voice Concerns

Brussels / Warsaw — January 2026

The European Union’s highest judicial body has issued a landmark judgment requiring all 27 EU member states to recognise same-sex marriages legally concluded in another EU country, even if those unions are not permitted under national law.

In a case referred by Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled on 25 November 2025 that refusing to recognise a same-sex marriage officially registers in a returning member state violates EU law, including the rights to freedom of movement and to respect for private and family life guaranteed under the EU treaties and charter. Curia

The case involved two Polish citizens who married in Berlin in 2018. Upon returning to Poland, where same-sex marriage is not legal, Polish authorities refused to transcribe their German marriage certificate into the civil register on the basis that domestic law defines marriage as a union between a woman and a man. The CJEU found that refusal unlawful because it impaired the couple’s ability to exercise family rights under EU law. Curia

While the judgment obliges member states to recognise such marriages for EU free movement and associated rights, the court clarified that it does not require countries to legalise same-sex marriage within their own domestic legal systems. Member states can choose the procedures for recognition so long as they do not discriminate against same-sex couples. Curia

Implementation and Scope

The ruling means that even in countries such as Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania—where same-sex marriage is not legal—authorities must recognise same-sex marriages performed in other EU countries for the sake of EU citizens’ rights under EU law. National procedures for recognition may vary, but they must treat such marriages equally with opposite-sex marriages. Catholic News Agency

Legal analysts have noted this ruling builds on earlier EU case law such as the 2018 Coman decision, which required member states to grant residence rights to same-sex spouses of EU citizens even if they did not recognise such unions domestically. https://eutoday.net

Evangelical and Faith-Based Reactions

The CJEU decision has drawn not only political backlash from some national leaders, who view it as an intrusion into family law traditionally governed by member states, but also concern from religious communities, including evangelical and other Christian groups.

Some evangelical leaders and Christian family advocacy organisations have criticised the ruling as an overextension of EU legal authority into matters they regard as fundamental to national sovereignty and religious convictions about marriage. They argue that forcing recognition of same-sex marriages performed abroad can conflict with deeply held beliefs about marriage as the union of one man and one woman. These concerns echo wider debates in various parts of Europe over the cultural and legal implications of expanding recognition of same-sex unions. Catholic News Agency

Representatives from faith communities emphasise that while the ruling does not compel domestic legalisation of same-sex marriage, it may still create tension with religious teachings and pastoral practices, especially in countries with strong evangelical or Catholic majorities. Some voices have also urged church and ministry leaders to reaffirm theological teachings on marriage and to advocate for conscience protections where civil law intersects with religious conviction.

At the same time, proponents of the ruling argue that ensuring legal recognition of marriages formed abroad protects the rights and dignity of all EU citizens under existing EU treaties, particularly when exercising freedom of movement across the bloc. ILGA-Europe

Broader Implications

Commentators have highlighted that the ruling underscores the wider trend of European institutions prioritising non-discrimination and equal treatment but also pushing the LGBTQ agenda onto nations, even amid a patchwork of national family law regimes. It also reflects longstanding tensions between EU legal integration and member state autonomy in areas such as marriage and family life.

The judgment will now guide implementing steps by national authorities and may prompt further domestic legal and political debates in member states with conservative family law traditions. https://eutoday.net