Stories tagged with: andrew brunson

• Brunson reaped spiritual 'hunger' in Turkish prison

  by Diana Chandler, posted Thursday, October 10, 2019 (9 months ago)

  

  KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP) -- Two years in filthy Turkish prisons reaped for pastor Andrew Brunson a spiritual "hunger, desperation and running after God" that he hasn't felt since his release.

  "I find that I don't miss prison; I wouldn't want to go back," Brunson told Baptist Press Tuesday (Oct. 8), after nearly a year of freedom. "But the conditions there drove me to seek God with such desperation, and now that I'm out, and I don't have those things driving me, then there's a lessening, a slackening of that hunger and desperation and running after God, and I actually miss that from prison. Read More

• Brunson: 'Tsunami of prayer' from Turkish prison

  by Diana Chandler, posted Thursday, May 02, 2019 (one year ago)

  

  Photo by John Phillips

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- God birthed a tsunami of prayer through the imprisonment of pastor Andrew Brunson in a Turkish prison because of his faith, the pastor told hundreds of leaders gathered at a pre-National Day of Prayer dinner in Washington May 1.

  "I like to say I rode a wave of prayer out of Turkey at the right time, when God had finished what He wanted to accomplish through my imprisonment," said Brunson, who faced life imprisonment before his release in October, 2018, after two years' confinement. Read More

• Pastors' Conf.: MacDonald out, Andrew Brunson added

  by David Roach, posted Tuesday, December 18, 2018 (one year ago)

  

  BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BP) -- Chicago pastor James MacDonald has withdrawn from his speaking slot at the 2019 Southern Baptist Convention Pastors' Conference in Birmingham, Ala., conference president Danny Wood announced Dec. 17.

  Meanwhile, Andrew Brunson, the American pastor released this fall from imprisonment in Turkey, has been added to the June 9-10 lineup of speakers, the Pastors' Conference announced in late November. Brunson will preach from Matthew 5:10 -- "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs."

  Wood said via Twitter that MacDonald, pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago, "contacted me personally to say he is stepping away from all outside speaking engagements for a season (including Pastors Conference 2019). Thankful for this brother, and he has my prayers as he focuses upon his own local church ministry." Read More

• 'Pour out Your Holy Spirit on … Trump,' Brunson prays

  by Diana Chandler, posted Monday, October 15, 2018 (one year ago)

  

  Screen capture from Global News

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- Just a day after his release from incarceration in Turkey, freed American pastor Andrew Brunson prayed for President Donald Trump in an Oct. 13 meeting in the White House Oval Office.

  "Lord God, I ask that you pour out your Holy Spirit on President Trump, that You give him supernatural wisdom to accomplish all the plans you have for this country and for him," Brunson prayed, according to a video CBS news tweeted. Brunson's family, Congressional members and media attended the 2:30 p.m. meeting. Read More

• Imprisoned pastor Andrew Brunson free at last

  by Diana Chandler, posted Friday, October 12, 2018 (one year ago)

  

  Screen capture from Reuters

  ALIAGA, Turkey (BP) -- Pastor Andrew Brunson reportedly will fly to the United States Oct. 13, released after two years' incarceration on disputed charges that could have led to life imprisonment.

  Although Turkey did not proclaim Brunson innocent, a court in Aliaga today (Oct. 12) released him on time served after sentencing him to three years, one month and 15 days, The New York Times reported. The court found him guilty of "terror," the Times said, following charges of espionage and undermining the constitutional order of the state. Read More

• U.S. advocates for persecuted pastors in Turkey & Iran

  by Diana Chandler, posted Tuesday, August 21, 2018 (one year ago)

  

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- In longstanding cases of Christian persecution, American pastor Andrew Brunson remains under house arrest in Turkey as the U.S. government ramps up efforts for his release, while pastor Youcef Nadarkhani begins a 10-year prison term in Iran's notorious Evin prison.

  In the latest bilateral move, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration rejected an offer from Turkish President Recep Erdogan that could have secured Brunson's release. Erdogan offered to release Brunson if Trump dropped an investigation of one of Turkey's largest state-owned banks, Halkbank, regarding alleged violations of U.S. sanctions on Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported Aug. 19. Read More

• Imprisoned U.S. pastor in Turkey moves to house arrest

  by Diana Chandler, posted Wednesday, July 25, 2018 (one year ago)

  

  IZMIR, Turkey (BP) -- American pastor Andrew Brunson has been granted transfer from a Turkish prison to house arrest awaiting an Oct. 12 hearing, his attorneys said today (July 25).

  The move comes a week after a Turkish court denied Brunson's plea for release after nearly two years' imprisonment on allegations of terrorism and spying. The longtime pastor and native of Black Mountain, N.C., has instead been charged with "the crime of 'Christianization,'" his defenders at the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) said.

  "We have confirmed that the Turkish government has issued an order releasing Pastor Andrew Brunson from prison and allowing him to be returned to his home in Turkey," ACLJ Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow said in a press release. "This is a critical first step that we believe will result in the freedom of Pastor Brunson so he can return to the United States and be reunited with his family." Read More

• Still jailed in Turkey, Brunson gave 'bold' witness

  by David Roach, posted Thursday, July 19, 2018 (one year ago)

  

  Submitted photo

  ALIAGA, Turkey (BP) -- American pastor Andrew Brunson's continued imprisonment in Turkey following a July 18 court hearing is probably an act of political maneuvering rather than Islamic persecution, two Islamic studies professors say.

  Resurgent conservative Islam in Turkey is, however, part of the background, the professors say, that led to Brunson's October 2016 arrest and subsequent imprisonment over what religious liberty watchdogs have called unfounded charges of terrorism and espionage.

  "I am not in a position to speculate on why Brunson (as opposed to other Americans, who are permitted to practice their Christianity freely in Turkey) was arrested," said Ant Greenham, associate professor of missions and Islamic studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. "False accusations seem to have played a role. However, [Turkish] President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan is now in a position of greater strength, following the lifting of [a] state of emergency" July 18. Read More

• New charges against pastor in Turkey jail

  by Diana Chandler, posted Tuesday, September 05, 2017 (2 years ago)

  

  American Center for Law and Justice photo

  IZMIR, Turkey (BP) -- American pastor Andrew Brunson faces new charges punishable by four consecutive life imprisonments in an Izmir, Turkey, prison.

  The Presbyterian pastor formerly of North Carolina is now accused of espionage aimed at overthrowing the Turkish Parliament and government, and undermining the constitutional order of the state, the Wall Street Journal reported shortly after the charges were levied Aug. 24. Previously accused of working with the Fetullah Gulen movement to overthrow Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Brunson has been imprisoned since early October 2016. Read More

• 78 U.S. lawmakers call for release of jailed pastor

  by Diana Chandler, posted Friday, February 17, 2017 (3 years ago)

  

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- A bipartisan group of federal lawmakers have signed a letter calling for the release of Andrew Brunson, a U.S. citizen believed to have been jailed for his Christian faith in Turkey where he had pastored more than 23 years.

  The chairman and ranking members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee are among 78 signatories of the letter calling for Brunson's release, Senate committee chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said in a Feb. 16 press release. Brunson, formerly of Black Mountain, N.C., has been held since October 2016 on accusations of being a member of an armed terrorist group. Read More