Sunday, April 26, 2015

Franklin Graham, Joel Osteen, Mark Burnett, Roma Downey at the top of Newsmax's Top 100 Christian Leaders List


1. Franklin Graham, head of Samaritan’s Purse.

2. Joel Osteen, televangelist, pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, and best-selling author.

3. Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, creators of the successful television series "The Bible," and its spinoff, "A.D. The Bible Continues."

4. Cardinal Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington.

5. Billy Graham, legendary evangelist.

6. Rick Warren, founder and senior pastor of Saddleback evangelical megachurch in Lake Forest, California.

7. Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas, Southern Baptist minister, and potential 2016 GOP presidential candidate.

8. Jerry Falwell, Jr., president of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, the world's largest evangelical Christian university.

9. Joyce Meyer, founder of Joyce Meyer Ministries, host of "Enjoying Everyday Life" TV and radio show, bestselling author of more than 100 books.

10. Pat Robertson, chairman of the Christian Broadcasting Network.

11. Ronnie Floyd
, president of the Southern Baptist Convention.

12. Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Evangelical Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina, and former president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.

13. Thomas Spencer Monson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

14. The Rev. T.D. Jakes, apostle/bishop of the Dallas-based nondenominational megachurch The Potter’s House, whose impassioned sermons are broadcast internationally; founder of the “Woman Thou Art Loosed” movement; host of the “Megafest” revival that draws more than 100,000 people annually.

15. Cardinal Timothy Dolan
, archbishop of New York.

16. John Hagee, founder of the Cornerstone megachurch in San Antonio, CEO of Global Evangelism Television and John Hagee Ministries, and founder of Christian-Zionist group Christians United for Israel.

17. Edward Atsinger III, CEO of Salem Media Group.

18. Victoria Osteen, televangelist and co-pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston and best-selling author of “Love Your Life” and various other children's books.

19. Tim LaHaye, co-author of the best-selling “Left Behind” novels.

20. Cardinal Raymond Burke, former chief of Vatican Supreme Court and most prominent opponent of Pope Francis' liberalization of Catholic moral teachings.

21. Father Jonathan Morris, Fox News contributor, author, and Catholic priest; special assistant to Cardinal Timothy Dolan for media and communications; director of SiriusXM’s The Catholic Channel, and theological adviser to Mel Gibson’s "The Passion of the Christ."

22. David Lane, social-conservative activist and staunch opponent of gay marriage, who regularly steps into the political realm to promote Judeo-Christian values.

23. Mary Ann Glendon, a bioethics scholar and professor at Harvard Law School and a former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican.

24. Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.

25. Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church of the United States.

26. David Green, CEO of Hobby Lobby.

27. Archbishop Demetrios, head of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and Exarch of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

28. Jim Winkler, president of the National Council of Churches.

29. Floyd Flake, pastor of Greater Allen AME Cathedral in Jamaica, New York, for nearly 30 years, responsible for growing its congregation to more than 18,000; former Democratic congressman.

30. Robert George, Princeton University professor of jurisprudence described by The New York Times as “this country’s most influential conservative Christian thinker”; drafter of the social-conservative Manhattan Declaration manifesto.

31. Rick Santorum, former U.S. senator, potential 2016 GOP presidential candidate, and Catholic lay leader.

32. Mary Ann Swenson, bishop of the United Methodist Church and chairwoman of the Board Development Committee of the National Council of Churches.

33. Alan Sears, president and chief attorney of the Alliance Defending Freedom.

34. Reginald Jackson, bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

35. Charles Chaput, archbishop of Philadelphia.

36. Mark Driscoll, founder of Mars Hill Church in Seattle and co-author with wife Grace of the bestselling book “Real Marriage.”

37. Tim Tebow, ESPN commentator and NFL quarterback recently picked up by the Philadelphia Eagles.

38. George O. Wood, chairman of Assemblies of God, the world's largest Pentecostal denomination.

39. Michael Sweet, Christian rocker, lead singer of Stryper and Boston.

40. Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus.

41. Eric Metaxas, speaker and author of the acclaimed biographies "Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery" and "Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy."

42. Vashti Murphy McKenzie, first-ever female bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, first woman pastor of Payne Memorial AME Church in Baltimore.

43. Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council.

44. Charles Stanley, senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Atlanta, founder of In Touch Ministries, and former president of the Southern Baptist Convention.

45. James Towey, president of Ave Maria University in Florida and George W. Bush's White House director of faith-based initiatives.

46. Creflo Dollar, televangelist, pastor, and preacher of prosperity theology; founder of World Changers Church International and Creflo Dollar Ministries.

The other 54 are listed at Newsmax