Dallas, TX

Texas megachurch faces backlash for opulent Christmas show

Published

2 years ago

December 16, 2023

Press Room

Texas megachurch faces backlash for opulent Christmas show

Prestonwood Baptist Church’s lavish holiday display first went viral and drew widespread criticism last year.

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TikToker lawsonmaee posted footage from Prestonwood Baptist Church’s “The Gift of Christmas” show six days ago. The clip shows drummers with full-body LED outfits soaring through the air, attached to cables moving up and down suspension tracks attached to the church ceiling. Dozens of dancers dressed in bright red outfits perform a tightly choreographed routine while dozens more musicians and singers blast music from a stage adorned with neon lights and puffing smoke machines. “When you’re new to Texas and didn’t realize just how hard Texas megachurches go at Christmastime,” the caption reads.

Dallas, Texas megachurch Prestonwood Baptist's lavish holiday display first went viral and drew widespread criticisim last year. — Dallas, Texas megachurch Prestonwood Baptist’s lavish holiday display first went viral and drew widespread criticisim last year.
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As of Friday evening, the clip has pulled in 1.2 million likes and nearly 33,000 comments. Many comments focused on the church’s tax-exempt status and questioned church leadership’s use of money. “No taxes just vibes,” one user commented, drawing nearly 93,000 likes and over 400 replies. “They are so genuine with how they spend their money,” another commented sarcastically, earning more than 12,000 likes “Yeah this doesn’t feel right man,” wrote a third.

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The Plano megachurch’s Christmas show drew attention and backlash online last year, when a clip of the flying drummers went viral on TikTok. Users scrutinizing and debating leaders’ use of funds and the church’s tax-exempt status also dominated the comment section in last year’s viral clip.

In a statement sent to the San Antonio Express-News, Prestonwood Baptist defended its over-the-top holiday tradition: “The Gift of Christmas is a ticketed Christian production, not a church service, and a long beloved Christian tradition celebrated by the many hundreds-of-thousands in our community and surrounding states who have attended for more than 25 years. Prestonwood Baptist Church is not ashamed to pull out all the stops in celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ during the Christmas season,” church officials said in the statement.

“At Prestonwood, we believe Jesus deserves our absolute best, especially during Christmas. It’s unfortunate that the perennial American tradition of the church Christmas program now draws criticism. We pray that they, too, may come to know the joy of Christmas and the love of our Savior,” they continued.

Prestonwood Baptist Church is one of the largest megachurches in the U.S. and is a member of the Southern Baptist Convention. Dr. Jack Graham, Prestonwood’s longtime lead Pastor, was identified in an investigation into the SBC last year as one of the prominent leaders who helped protect an alleged abuser from criminal charges and internal accountability.

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Dallas, TX

Ben Gleason with a Goal vs. Dallas Stars

Published

1 week ago

September 24, 2025

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Ben Gleason with a Goal vs. Dallas Stars

Ex-Dallas Stars Goalie Signs Try-Out With New Jersey DevilsOver the past several years, the Dallas Stars have put an emphasis on signing undrafted free agents, including between the pipes. Names like Landon Bow, Matt Murray and most recently prospect Ben Kraws are just some of the undrafted goaltenders the Stars signed to their system over the past decade.

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Dallas, TX

Trump vows tough action after beheading of Indian motel manager in Dallas

Published

2 weeks ago

September 15, 2025

Press Room

Trump vows tough action after beheading of Indian motel manager in Dallas

US President Donald Trump has strongly condemned the beheading of an Indian-origin hotel manager allegedly by a Cuban illegal immigrant in Dallas last week.

“The time for being soft on these Illegal Immigrant Criminals is OVER under my watch,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

Chandra Mouli Nagamallaiah, 50, was attacked with a machete by his co-worker Yordanis Cobos-Martinez in front of his wife and child, following a heated argument over a broken washing machine. The accused, who is now in custody, has been charged with murder.

Trump has long vowed tougher enforcement against undocumented migrants, making it a central plank of his policy.

Trump said Mr Cobos-Martinez “will be prosecuted to the fullest extent” of the law and will be “charged with murder in the first degree”.

He also criticised the Biden administration in his post saying Mr Cobos-Martinez was previously arrested for several crimes, including alleged child abuse, but was “released back into society because Cuba declined to accept his return”.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, Mr Cobos-Martinez is an undocumented immigrant, with a final order of removal from the US.

The department claims he was in custody at a detention center in Dallas but was released on an order of supervision in January after Cuba “would not accept him because of his criminal history”.

Nagamallaiah, who belonged to the southern Indian state of Karnataka, worked at the Downtown Suites Motel in Dallas.

He went to school and college in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru before moving to the US in 2018. His son graduated high school recently and is preparing to begin college, according to a news report on NDTV news channel.

The assault took place on 10 September. The police said they received a “stabbing” call and a preliminary investigation determined that Mr Cobos-Martinez had cut the victim with an edged weapon several times.

He then reportedly kicked the head of the victim “around like a soccer ball”, according to the US Department of Homeland Security.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged Mr Cobos-Martinez with the Dallas County Jail, where he is being held.

Nagamallaiah’s funeral was held on 13 September in Flower Mound, Texas, and was attended by family and friends.

A fundraiser launched to support his family has raised more than $321,000 (£2,36,723), according to news agency PTI.

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