News

Faith-Based Lack of Initiative

Compiled by Ted Olsen

Columnist

Plus: More hard data on what evangelicals really believe, William Martin on T. D. Jakes, criminal religious TV, Jackie Mason doesn’t find Jews for Jesus funny, and other stories from online sources around the world.

Christianity Today August 25, 2006

Today’s Top Five

1. Army of compassion of oneThe Washington Post‘s Alan Cooperman notes that when the White House announced its appointment of Jay Hein as the new director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, it did so using the kind of timing it usually uses for bad news.

“It’s part of a continuing story of ambivalence. It’s hard to look at the evidence and see any real passion for the initiative from the White House,” said David Kuo, former deputy director of the White House’s faith-based office.

Hein says Bush is still eager to see progress on the faith-based initiative. “I had 30 minutes of Oval Office time with the president before I accepted the position, and that spoke loudly to me about his personal interest in seeing this initiative made successful and that it remains a high priority on his desk,” Hein told the Post.

2. Read the poll, not the headlines There are many news stories today about the new survey results from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. With so many subjects covered, it can be a Rorschach test for news outlets (e.g.: The New York Times goes with “In poll, GOP slips as a friend of religion,” while The Washington Times runs “Few see Democrats as friendly to religion.”). But if you like numbers, and if you really want to know what evangelicals think about contemporary political issues—as well as a number of religious issues—you can get lost in this for hours. A few notes:

  • Almost half of Americans say conservative Christians have gone too far in trying to impose their religious values on the country (up to 49% from 45% a year ago). But the percentage of Americans who have a favorable view of the conservative Christian movement has been relatively steady over the past half-decade. (The unfavorable rating has grown by a few points, pulling from those in earlier years who had no opinion.)
  • Which should be the more important influence on the laws of the United States? Should it be the Bible or should it be the will of the American people, even when it conflicts with the Bible? Three out of five white evangelicals said the Bible should trump the people’s will. Seven percent of Americans who describe themselves as “secular” agree. (Five percent of secular Americans say the Bible is the literal Word of God, and another 29 percent say it’s the Word of God, but not everything in it should be taken literally.)
  • More than 70 percent of Americans want to see more religious influence on American life. But barely a majority—51 percent—want to see more religious influence on government.
  • There doesn’t seem to be much of a “religious left.” The Pew report explains, “The survey finds relatively few Americans identify with either the ‘religious left political movement’ (7%), or the ‘religious right political movement’ (11%). However, there are far more conservatives who identify with the religious right than liberals who identify themselves as belonging to the religious left.” An equal percentage of evangelicals and mainline Protestants—seven percent—say they belong to the religious left.

There’s much more, including statistics on evolution, Israel, global warming, biblical literalism, the Second Coming, and what Americans are hearing in church.

3. American bans television A Pakistani national who lives in New York has been charged with illegally offering customers access to Al Manar, the television station run by Hezbollah. Buying or selling access to Al Manar is prohibited under the Patriot Act, since Hezbollah is designated a global terrorist organization.

“The charge lurking in the background is material support for terrorism,” Stephen A. Miller, an assistant United States attorney, told United States Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein, according to The New York Times.

Much of Manar’s satellite business has reportedly come from Christians who want more religious programming in their homes.

The New York Post describes the sting operation this way:

In June, a “wired” FBI informant walked into Iqbal’s Brooklyn office, asking to be hooked up to the “DISH network.”

The informant explained he was Lebanese and wanted to watch the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation, which transmits secular or Christian shows. Iqbal asked if he was “Lebanese Christian” and when the informant said no, he asked, “Why don’t you watch Al Manar?” court papers say.

He described different service packages that would allow the customer to receive Al Manar and other Arab networks, including Al-Jazeera.

Al Manar sounds like a despicable channel. But should it be illegal? Be careful: Christians have been enthusiastic for Sat-7, a Christian satellite network that targets the Middle East and North Africa, where several countries limit Christian media. And the precedent is unsettling. If the U.S. can ban access to Al Manar today for its “death to America” broadcasts, what’s to stop a ban on CBN tomorrow for its “death to Hugo Chavez” broadcasts?

4. Jackie Mason and Jews for Jesus get more media attention Just because Jackie Mason is the celebrity spokesman for Jews Against Anti-Christian Defamation (which was one of the “war on Christmas” groups last December) doesn’t mean he’s a fan of Jews for Jesus.  He’s suing the evangelistic group for $2 million, saying it illegally used him in an evangelistic tract called “Jackie Mason … A Jew for Jesus!?“. “The pamphlet uses my name, my likeness, my ‘shtick’ (if you will), and my very act, which is derived from my personality, to attract attention and converts,” he complained. Does Jackie Mason, whose claim to fame is having not given Ed Sullivan the finger, really still “attract attention”? Today he does, I guess.

5. William Martin profiles T. D. Jakes for Texas Monthly That combo should be all you need if you’re the kind of person interested in religion reporting. Martin is the Rice University sociologist whose book A Prophet with Honor is still the top biography of Billy Graham, and whose With God on Our Side beat this year’s slew of books describing the rise of the religious right by a decade. Jakes you should know by now (CT’s profile was written by Lauren F. Winner). Texas Monthly is one of those wonderful magazines that really gives its writers room to breathe. (Martin profiled Joel Osteen for the magazine a year ago.) There’s not much new in the profile, which covers prosperity teachings, the Juanita Bynum controversy, prison ministry, and the immense size of both Jakes and his church. Martin’s thesis isn’t shocking: “Few, if any, contemporary religious figures can match the prodigious talent, driving ambition, entrepreneurial genius, commanding presence, rhetorical power, and tangible accomplishment manifested by the senior pastor of Dallas’s 30,000-member Potter’s House.” But it’s still this week’s must-read article.

Update We got a call from Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal religion editor Charity Gordon, whose article, “Pastor leaves after church turns away biracial boy” we praised earlier this week. The story, Gordon said, did not appear in the print edition of the paper, was posted online while reporting and editing were still going on, and church members have since questioned the account of the boy’s dismissal as described by pastor John Stevens. The police officer who had been attending the church and was quoted in the story wasn’t actually at the church when the events took place (though the online article never says that he was). Gordon’s updated article will appear in Saturday’s paper.

Quote of the day “A recognition of the likely failure of a ‘values’ approach is paradoxically the surest way to advance a nation’s values. A nation will go farthest in representing values it cares about if its every discussion is colored by a knowledge of how little it can do. At times the job of a leader is to rouse the public with an ideal vision no one believes will really be achieved. But year in and year out, the leaders, the electorate and the communicators who connect those two groups will do better if they remember how long, slow, imperfect and sometimes doomed will be the prospects of a ‘values’ agenda.”

—Atlantic Monthly national correspondent James Fallows, in a speech to the Lowry Institute in Sydney. An adapted version of the speech appears in today’s Sydney Morning Herald.

More articles

Politics | New Pew poll | Plan B | Life ethics | Church and state | Education | Evolution | War and peace | Church life | Missions and ministry | Media | Books

Politics:

  • New chief oversees a less visible faith office | The White House announced Jay F. Hein’s appointment at 6:30 p.m. on a Thursday three weeks ago, the kind of timing usually reserved for news the administration wants to bury (The Washington Post)
  • Conservative pastors nationwide supporting GOP governor nominee | Republican candidate for governor Ken Blackwell, long admired by conservative pastors across the country, will now receive the official campaign endorsement of these pastors, including several prominent black ministers (Associated Press)
  • Marriage alliance to hold march | A march in support of marriage is to be held in seven major South African cities on September 16, the Marriage Alliance has said (Sunday Times, South Africa)
  • Harris: Separation of church-state ‘a lie’ | ” … if you’re not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin,” she says in interview (The Orlando Sentinel)
  • Catholics & 2006 | A memo from “the White House’s outsourced Catholic Guy,” Leonard Leo, to Catholic leaders (via Kathryn Jean Lopez at National Review Online)
  • Mitt’s evangelical breakthrough | Mitt Romney is quietly emerging the most viable presidential candidate to the right of John McCain and Rudy Giuliani. (W. James Antle III, The American Spectator)
  • Stars of a different stripe | When it comes to advancing moral values, hypocrisy might not be such a dirty word (James Fallows, The Sydney Morning Herald)
  • Hume’s battle with extremists is not won yet | Hume may have been tolerated by the religious fundamentalists of his day but only just, and he knew not to push it (Iain Grimston, Edinburgh Daily News, Scotland)

Back to index

New Pew poll:

  • In poll, GOP slips as a friend of religion | The decline is particularly steep among Catholics and white evangelical Protestants (The New York Times)
  • Poll: U.S. conflicted on religion | Many Americans blame liberals for too much separation. Yet the GOP is losing its evangelicals (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
  • Few see Democrats as friendly to religion | Liberal or progressive Christians, who make up 34 percent of the population, are disunified on key issues, and only one out of four Americans considers the Democratic Party friendly to religion, a Pew poll shows (The Washington Times)
  • GOP dips in religion poll | The number of people who consider the Republican Party friendly to religion has dipped below half in the last year, with declines among white evangelicals and white Catholics. But the GOP remains far more closely tied to religion than the Democratic Party (Associated Press)
  • Report: Many Americans uneasy with mix of religion and politics | 69% say liberals too secular, 49% say conservatives too assertive (Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life)

Back to index

Plan B:

  • FDA approves broader access to next-day pill | The agency’s decision did little to dampen what became a central part of the nation’s debate on abortion (The New York Times)
  • Advocates want more Plan B pill access | Planned Parenthood wants age restriction drooped (Associated Press)
  • Easier access to morning-after pills | Thursday’s decision will not please advocates of unrestricted access to the emergency contraceptive, but it is an acceptable compromise (Editorial, The New York Times)

Back to index

Life ethics:

Back to index

Church and state:

  • In Malaysia, a test for religious freedom | Court ruling on woman’s bid to shed Muslim label will help define nation’s character (The Wall Street Journal)
  • Jewish veterans, local ACLU latest to sue over cross | The local chapter of The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit yesterday to force the Mount Soledad cross to be moved in the latest challenge over the La Jolla landmark’s constitutionality (San Diego Union-Tribune)
  • Prayers still split Congress | Religion is weaved throughout the federal government, sometimes chaffing critics who say the practice is insensitive, promotional and prohibited by constitutional separations of church and state (The Reformer, Brattleboro, Vt.)
  • The taxman goes to church | Why is the IRS in the business of reading sermons? (Editorial, The Wall Street Journal)

Back to index

Education:

Back to index

Evolution:

Back to index

War and peace:

  • Uganda agrees to conditional cease-fire | Uganda has agreed to a conditional truce with rebels to end a 19-year insurgency in the north of the country that has left thousands dead, officials said Friday (Associated Press)
  • Iran ex-president invited to Washington | National Cathedral invites Mohammad Khatami to speak on “the role that the three Abrahamic faiths can play in shaping peace” (Associated Press)
  • War-torn Middle East seeks solace in religion | As an uneasy truce between Israel and Hezbollah continues, millions of average men and women in the Holy Land are turning to the one simple comfort that has always seen them through the darkest days of their troubled history: the steadfast guidance of their religious faith (The Onion, satire)
  • Islamists threaten to fight U.N. Darfur force | Sudanese Islamist leaders say they will take up arms against United Nations peacekeepers if they deploy to Darfur, and some have warned they will also fight the Khartoum government if it agrees to the force (Reuters)
  • An end to ‘us versus them’ | Fundamentalists are a minority everywhere, but they are stoking widespread fear, loathing, and dreams of salvation, provoking violence and war while weakening moderates forces (Jeffrey Sachs, The Guardian, London)

Back to index

Church life:

Back to index

Missions and ministry:

Back to index

Media:

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Books:

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Culture
Review

How to Eat Fried Worms

Camerin Courtney

Christianity Today August 25, 2006

When I heard they’d made a movie out of Thomas Rockwell’s popular 1973 juvenile fiction book How to Eat Fried Worms, I fondly remembered a genre of stories I read in elementary school, including such classics as Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and Fudge by Judy Blume, and the Ramona books (Ramona the Pest, Ramona the Brave, etc.) by Beverly Cleary. These were books with lovable, relatable characters who won our hearts and turned us on to reading. I lumped How to Eat Fried Worms in with the rest with a great big nostalgic awww.

Well, it should have been an ewww.

In the book version of Fried Worms, warring factions of 11-year-old male friends dare young Billy Forrester to eat 15 worms in 15 days for 50 bucks. It’s a winning battle of wits and stomachs, a classic tale of friendship and boyhood fights. Well, when you cram that story into 83 minutes in the age of Fear Factor, that translates into ten worms on one gastronomically insane Saturday (with no puking). And the loser has to walk down the main hallway at school with a handful of worms in his pants. In other words, the movie version is all about the worms.

Luke Benward as Billy … and it’s all about the worms

At the start of the film, Billy (Luke Benward) has moved to a new town with his mostly clueless parents (Tom Cavanagh and Kimberly Williams-Paisley) and his annoyingly cute little brother, Woody (Ty Panitz). Why have they moved? We don’t know. Remember, it’s all about the worms. When Billy braves the first day at his new school, he becomes the latest target for the campus bully, Joe, and his band of fifth-grade thugs. Why is he the source of such instant derision? We don’t know. Remember, it’s all about the worms.

At lunch that first day, Joe and crew sneak a fistful of worms into Billy’s Thermos. In the ensuing cafeteria showdown, Billy shows a rare surge in courage (or stupidity) and flings one of the wiggly creatures onto Joe’s face. Why does normally cowering Billy suddenly become brave and daring? Oh, you get the picture by now. In return, Joe issues the worm-eating dare, and as anyone who’s ever graced a school playground will tell you, you have to take the dare.

Adam Hicks as Joe, the bully who set things into motion
Adam Hicks as Joe, the bully who set things into motion

So, while Billy’s parents leave him in their brand-new neighborhood to care for his preschool brother that entire Saturday, mayhem erupts. The boys travel from kitchen to kitchen (eventually getting shooed out of each), finding new diabolical ways to prepare each worm. There’s the spinach, broccoli, and worm smoothie. The Barfmallow, which contains marshmallow fluff, catsup, and the requisite worm. They even cook up a veggie-and-worm omelet at the diner owned by one boy’s uncle—but that one gets accidentally fed to creepy Principal Burdock (James Rebhorn). Can you hear all the 11-year-old boys cheering “duuude” and “awesome!” Yeah, you will. That’s if you can stomach this little family flick.

Throughout this fifth-grade Fear Factor, there are scattered lessons on the ills of bullying, the benefit of being true to yourself, the joy of true friendship. But really, what boy is going to remember a moral when there’s an exploding worm? (Yes, you get that nagging question of what happens when you nuke a worm answered!)

Tom Cavanaugh and Kimberly Williams-Paisley as Billy's parents
Tom Cavanaugh and Kimberly Williams-Paisley as Billy’s parents

The acting is as varied as the worm concoctions. Luke Benward does an admirable job as our puke-avoiding protagonist. The rest of the boys vary from convincing to melodramatic. When I saw that Billy’s parents are played by Tom Cavanagh and Kimberly Williams-Paisley, I was delighted. What perfect casting for family flick folks. Sadly, they’re way underused and mainly fed one-dimensional dopey-grown-up lines (as are all the other adults).

If you’re an 11-year-old boy, I’ll bet this is cinematic heaven. And if you’re not (or don’t have the sense of humor of one), having your favorite member of this demographic entertained for 83 minutes may just be enough to win you over, too. Just remember to steer clear of the gummy worms at the concession stand.

Talk About It

  Discussion starters
  1. At the beginning of the movie, Billy is the new kid in school. Have you ever been the “new kid”? What did it feel like? How did you eventually make friends and start to fit in? How can you use that experience to help a “new kid” around you right now
  2. Why do you think Joe was a bully? Why do you think bullies exist? Have you ever been a bully—or just really mean to others? If yes, why did you pick on others? What were you really trying to prove or accomplish?
  3. Have you ever been bullied? How did you handle the situation? What’s the best way to respond to bullies
  4. One by one, Joe’s “team” starts to defect to Billy’s side. Why do you think they do that? What lessons do we learn about being true to yourself and about true friendship?

The Family Corner

For parents to consider

Though this is a family flick with nothing overtly offensive for young eyes, it does contain some bullying, bathroom humor, and disrespect for adults. One boy talks about his penis. And I wouldn’t take any kid—or grown-up—with a weak stomach.

Photos © Copyright New Line Cinema

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

What Other Critics Are Saying

compiled by Jeffrey Overstreetfrom Film Forum, 08/31/06

Thomas Rockwell’s book How to Eat Fried Worms is a childhood favorite for me and many other book lovers.

But based on what I’m reading from religious-press critics of the film, I may steer clear of it entirely. The reviews suggest that writer-director Bob Dolman’s movie adaptation, which comes to us from Walden Media, fills the story with unpleasantness, and changes the events at the conclusion, changing the meaning of the story altogether.

Steven D. Greydanus (Decent Films) is even more upset about it, giving the movie a D+.

He laments this adaptation, saying “Rockwell’s beloved novella … is a cheerfully disgusting tale of boyhood bravado and rivalry among friends that winds up going too far. The new film version … transmogrifies this minor classic into an unpleasant endurance test about coping with bullying by humiliating and degrading yourself before the bullies can do it for you, with a trite, tacked-on message of solidarity that’s about as realistic as a package of Gummi Worms.”

Greydanus believes that Fried Worms “marks a new low for once-promising Walden Media, which still professes to be education-oriented and once espoused a commitment to faithful adaptations of quality children’s literature. Their last film, Hoot, was a poor adaptation of an admittedly flawed novel. … Fried Worms is a melancholy new landmark, their first bad film from a good book.”

Similarly troubled, David DiCerto (Catholic News Service) notes that Dolman “alters the story considerably.” But he quickly adds, “The plot-tinkering is of less concern than the new message. Standing up to bullies is well and good, but, troublingly, the movie seems to suggest that the best way to deal with peer pressure is to give in to it.”

Christian Hamaker (Crosswalk) writes, “Young actors are front and center throughout Fried Worms, and although Benward, Eisenberg and Hicks give it their all, they are surrounded by a young cast that isn’t in the same league.”

Hamaker notes that Dolman “further tests audiences with a cinematic presentation lacking in flair and visual grace,” whereas he was impressed with earlier Walden films like Holes and Because of Winn-Dixie

Adam R. Holz (Plugged In) says that the lack of sexual innuendo and other crass content feels “refreshingly anachronistic,” and concludes that it’s “about as innocent as anything you’re likely to find on the big screen today.” Innocent, yes. But excellent? “[M]ore than a few middle school principals will be disappointed with the way it teaches kids to take matters into their own hands … when it comes to dealing with tweenage tyrants.”

Mainstream critics are divided over the film, but most don’t seem to notice how this adaptation arrives at different conclusions than the book.

Culture
Review

Invincible

Todd Hertz

Christianity Today August 25, 2006

Retired NFL coach Dick Vermeil is known for turning around struggling football programs, inspiring his teams, and leading the St. Louis Rams to Super Bowl victory in 2000. But he’s maybe best known for crying a lot. He’s an emotional, big-hearted guy who, moved by the thrills and agony of the game, tears up on the sidelines, in press conferences, in locker rooms. Knowing that, I was sort of surprised that Vermeil’s character in the true-life football drama Invincible doesn’t tear up once.

But I wasn’t surprised that I did. A couple of times. Invincible is the latest in Disney’s heartwarming line of true sports stories like Remember the Titans, Glory Road, and The Rookie. Like those previous films, Invincible is a heartstrings-pulling, tear-jerking, inspiring, hopeful drama of guts and determination where people like us overcome big odds to set an example for all those around.

Invincible‘s inspiring everyman hero is Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg), a 30-year-old down-on-his-luck but affable bartender. A stud at backyard football, a lifelong Philadelphia Eagles fan, and everyone’s shoulder to cry on, Vince is the glue that holds his working class friends together. And then, his life unravels financially and personally.

Mark Wahlberg as a down-on-his luck bartender … and huge Eagles fan

A new door of opportunity opens for Vince in 1976 when Vermeil, the new coach of the struggling Eagles, makes an unconventional move: He holds open tryouts. After unending teasing and encouragement, Vince finally agrees to go down to the tryouts. If nothing else, this “number one Eagles fan” figures it’s at least a chance to be on the same field his heroes have walked.

Of course, you can guess how the story goes from there. They wouldn’t have made a movie if he got cut on the first day. Instead, he’s a fitting underdog hero. He’s not big or strong or tough. But he has heart and he won’t stop trying. His courageous journey from hopeless bartender to Philadelphia Eagle is given extra thematic weight because of the sad economic situation for industrial workers in urban Philly at the time. It’s one thing to have a sports hero or team unite a city—but it’s another when he’s one of the people. In Invincible, you watch a working class guy’s mere heart and grit galvanize Philly by refusing to stay put when knocked down and trading his seat in the stands for a helmet. This is a movie that families—especially those with die-hard sports fans—will enjoy together. Any Joe Blow sports fan will watch Papale walk out into Veterans Stadium or through its locker room and daydream about what it would be like if they could go from holding a foam finger to playing alongside their heroes. The movie reminds us why sports are so important—they inspire us because anyone can be a hero.

Greg Kinnear as Coach Dick Vermeil
Greg Kinnear as Coach Dick Vermeil

Vince Papale is Philadelphia’s version of Rocky. Oh wait, Rocky was from Philly, too. He’s the 1970s version of Rocky. Oh wait. Okay, he is Rocky—but for football. And the film comparisons don’t stop there. Really, Invincible is Rocky meets Seabiscuit meets Hoosiers meets The Rookie meets Remember the Titans meets Cinderella Man.

Evoking all of those endeared films is not necessarily a bad thing; the inspiring zero-to-hero sports story resonates in us. We want to tell and hear that story over and over because of how it makes us feel. We want a hero who brings us hope that maybe we can overcome odds too. We wantto be the underdog who rises to the top. That plotline really never gets old. But since it’s been told so many times—and so well—weaknesses may seem more evident. In fact, if Invincible wasn’t a true story, its clichés, far-fetched plot and predictability could be considered faults. But how can you blame the movie when it’s just relating what really happened? You can’t point a finger at the facts, but you can question the way the story is told. The movie is pretty much a by-the-numbers telling without much to set it apart from the long list of good sports films. In fact, Invincible‘s real unique aspect—the journey of a fan who’s barely played the game all of a sudden suiting up for his team—is pretty much muted in favor of the well-tread “inspiring the city” plot.

Vince's buddies including Pete are a good example of friendship
Vince’s buddies including Pete are a good example of friendship

While there is a great build and emotional payoff (hence my tearing up), the setup can feel forced and fabricated. Thus, the movie doesn’t have the ultimate kick and weight of better pigskin films like Friday Night Lights and Remember the Titans. Most of the first half hour feels like a series of long conversations about how bad things are in Philly. Instead of letting a story naturally develop, plot points are just stacked up on top of each other in some sort of connect-the-dots game of needed info. For instance, when Vince’s wife leaves him, the very next scene introduces a very attractive blonde (Elizabeth Banks). It’s not hard to guess where things will go from there.

Another part of the film’s forced-feel is that first-time director Ericson Core doesn’t seem to trust the audience to know when things are dramatic and important. Instead, he conveys the idea with drastic zooms and long sequences of slow motion. There are so many scenes of Vince dramatically running in slow motion that you begin to wonder if Mark Wahlberg can control time.

At the tryouts with Coach Vermeil (right) looking on
At the tryouts with Coach Vermeil (right) looking on

But despite some rookie mistakes, Core makes more first downs than fumbles. Also serving as cinematographer, he includes two of the coolest football film camera shots I’ve seen. And he directs his actors well. Wahlberg and Kinnear are understated but solid. Wahlberg plays Vince, like most of his roles, with a gentle simplicity. He’s a quiet, steady guy with a big heart. And you understand why Philly would fall in love with him. In one of the film’s best scenes, you see why Vermeil would want him on the sidelines. Thinking he’s about to be cut, Vince walks to his coach’s office. There, Vince seems more genuinely concerned with how the rookie coach is doing than what’s about to happen to him. This subtle and heartwarming touch defines Invincible‘s best moments—scenes of laugh-out-loud humor, tangible joy and real human caring.

In fact, this film is full of people loving on each other in community. The best moments of caring don’t come from the somewhat lackluster and tacked-on love story, but from Vince’s group of guy friends. This is a realistic and even perceptive look at the fraternity of guy relationships. The guys know each other, push each other, encourage each other, keep one another accountable and, unlike most movie guys, have actual emotions and nuance behind their actions. They are real people—with love for each other, faith in others, and some flaws and baggage.

In some ways, Invincible itself is a lot like Vince Papale. Neither are unique, or the best, or the flashiest—but they make up for it with lots of heart.

Talk About It

  Discussion starters
  1. Early on, Vince’s Dad tells him, “A man can only take so much failure.” What do you think he meant? Was he discouraging Vince? Was he saying that to light a fire under Vince? Was he self-reflecting? How do you interpret the dad’s view
  2. Near the end of the film, Vince fails in a big situation. How does he bounce back? What do you think led to that failure and to his eventual redemption for it? What lessons are there in the way Vince perseveres
  3. Vince says that no matter what else was happening between them, he and his Dad “always had the Eagles.” How do sports create a bond between people? Why do you think sports are important? How have you built bonds through sports? Do you think the inspiration and heart of professional sports is still there? Why or why not
  4. In what ways can the group at Max’s bar be an example of what biblical fellowship can look like?

The Family Corner

For parents to consider

Rated PG for sports action and some mild language, this is a good family film. There’s typical football violence and minor swearing. Most of the group bonding between Vince and his buddies is over lots of beer. Guys get drunk, and there’s the impression that one of them is urinating in an alley. An unmarried couple kisses passionately and falls through a doorway, apparently on their way to bed.

Photos © Copyright Walt Disney Pictures

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

What Other Critics Are Saying

compiled by Jeffrey Overstreetfrom Film Forum, 08/31/06

Another year, and another inspiring story of an unlikely sports hero who made his dreams come true against all odds.

And yet, once in a while, that familiar formula can be satisfying. With Invincible, it appears we have a winner.

Invincible is the true story of Vince Papale (played here by Mark Wahlberg) who, at 30 years of age, left behind his work as a substitute teacher and bartender for a public tryout for his beloved Philadelphia Eagles—and, against all odds, he made the team.

David DiCerto (Catholic News Service) calls it “the kind of Cinderella sports movie too corny to believe if it weren’t true. Director Ericson Core follows a generic underdog formula—think Rocky meets Rudy—but you’ll find it hard not to cheer. … Ripping a page from the feel-good playbook of The Rookie and Miracle … the film owes much of its charm to the everyman charisma of Wahlberg’s performance.”

Christa Banister (Crosswalk) writes, “With an understated yet emotionally convincing performance that has the audience rooting for him all along, (not to mention the muscular physique he’d need to succeed), Wahlberg was a great choice for the lead role.”

Marcus Yoars (Plugged In) says, “[D]on’t let the familiar turf taint the positive messages in this gridiron go-round. … Barroom settings and a handful of content blips—including a kiss that apparently leads to more—draw a couple of flags, but it’s obvious those behind the camera made a concerted effort to make this a movie fit for (most of) the whole family.”

Mainstream critics are cheering—somewhat reluctantly, though, having been through so many similar films.

News

Outrage on Plan B, So Why Not the Pill?

Compiled by Ted Olsen

Columnist

Plus: Pro-lifers not impressed by embryo research development, Malaysia’s top court won’t rule soon on Lina Joy case, and other stories from online sources around the world.

Christianity Today August 24, 2006

Note: This is the second Weblog posted on Thursday, August 24. The first highlighted religious freedom in Malaysia, a church attack in India, a horrible story of a church member’s expulsion in Mississippi, and many other stories.

Today’s Top Five

1. Plan B goes over the counter After today’s FDA ruling, the morning-after pill Plan B will be available without a prescription, but only with proof that the buyer is 18 or older. While the pill may prevent a fertilized ovum from implanting in the uterus, the pill is not (though it is often confused with) an abortion pill like RU-486. Notably, the pill has no effect on an implanted embryo. Religious conservatives say the age restriction isn’t good enough.

“The FDA has sacrificed women’s health in the name of politics,” says Family Research Council president Tony Perkins. The press release does not say how women’s health will be endangered by the pill, but the organization does have a backgrounder on the subject, and last month it said the drug can encourage sexual abuse and says long-term effects have not been studied.

Focus on the Family has not yet issued a press release on the FDA’s approval, but on Tuesday criticized Bush’s support for over-the-counter (OTC) status. “Selling this drug over the counter to any adult who wants to buy it virtually guarantees that it will end up in the hands of teenage girls without their parents’ knowledge or their doctor’s supervision,” Focus’s Carrie Gordon Earll said in a press release. “Over-the-counter status for Plan B—regardless of the age requirement—is an invitation for adult men to pressure underage girls to have sex with the promise of an easily accessible magic pill to prevent or abort a pregnancy.”

“The FDA has overstepped its authority in this decision,” Concerned Women for America says in a press release that draws parallels between the FDA’s handling of Plan B and its handling of RU-486. “This decision allows anyone over 18 to purchase the drug without a prescription, thereby making the drug accessible to minors who can easily obtain the drug from those meeting the age requirement.”

I’m not taking a position on OTC status for Plan B. But I do find it interesting that so many press releases (Focus and the Christian Medical Association being exceptions, as of course is the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops) aren’t talking about the implantation issue. Most of the arguments are based on how OTC status would make the drug available to minors, which could encourage sexual activity. That may be true, but the argument would be just as true for other forms of contraception. You don’t need a prescription for condoms, for example, and you don’t have to be 18, either. And while you do need a prescription to get the Pill, you don’t have to be 18, and you generally don’t need parental consent.

Even the implantation issue doesn’t differ much between Plan B and the Pill—which isn’t a surprise, given that they’re just different doses of the same drug. There’s argument over how much the Pill affects implantation, but both Plan B and the Pill are designed primarily to stop fertilization, with preventing implantation as a secondary effect. And far more women are currently on the Pill than are likely to use Plan B.

So why do these pro-life groups have so much to say about Plan B but so little to say about the Pill?

2. Embryonic stem-cell research without destroying the embryo Given that it’s on almost every front page this morning, one might think that the news about coaxing stem cells from embryos without destroying the embryos would be a bigger story than OTC Plan B. Two reasons why not: Very few pro-lifers are talking about it (no comments yet from the organizations named above), and those that are aren’t happy.  “I have three preliminary words in response: Ba Low Nee,” says Wesley J. Smith on his blog. C. Ben Mitchell over at The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity calls it “ethical smoke and mirrors.” A CBHD press release explains, “The method of extracting cells from the embryo is similar to the procedure used for preimplantation genetic diagnosis, which has ethical problems of its own. The long-term effects of removing a cell or cells from an early embryo are unknown; it is likely some embryos will not even survive the procedure. In addition, it is widely believed that a single cell of a very early embryo may be capable of becoming a new embryo itself.” White House spokesman Emily Lawrimore tells The New York Times, “Any use of human embryos for research purposes raises serious ethical questions. This technique does not resolve those concerns.” Leon Kass says, “I do not think that this is the sought-for, morally unproblematic and practically useful approach we need.” Richard Doerflinger of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said the process may still harm the embryo and “raises more ethical questions than it answers.” The embryos, he said, are “still being treated as a means to an end, even if you’re not destroying them.” Over at National Review Online, Kathryn Jean Lopez notes that the embryos in the experiment actually were destroyed, but that the paper argues for a “proof of concept” that, in theory, destruction may not be the result in the future. Still, Lopez says, “that leading stem-cell scientists are looking to solve the embryo-destruction problem is terrific and should be praised.”

3. Malaysia developmentsToday’s earlier blog noted Malaysia’s ban on discussing religion. Now, in what appears to be another setback to religious freedom in the country, the top court has decided to drag its feet in the Lina Joy case. The court had earlier indicated that it would hurry in its decision on whether Lina must get permission from Islamic courts to convert to Christianity. Perhaps sensing that it’s now no use to hold its reporting on the case until the verdict, The New York Times summarizes the situation today.

4. Football coach prayer case goes into overtime The East Brunswick school district has announced that it will appeal a ruling allowing football coach Marcus Borden to participate in team prayers. The district had earlier said it was pleased with U.S. District Judge Dennis Cavanaugh’s decision in the case, and said it clarified the lines of acceptable religious behavior for coaches.

5. Another Christian Coalition defects Alabama’s Christian Coalition has joined chapters in Iowa and Ohio in dropping its ties to the weakened national body and changing its name. In some ways, the surprise is that the break didn’t come earlier—the state and national coalitions publicly campaigned against each other in 2003 over a proposed overhaul of the state’s tax system.

Quote of the day “They choose the Christians because we are seen as weak and because we would like to live in peace.”

— Basam Hannah, one of thousands of Christians who have fled Baghdad and other Iraqi cities amid concerns that they are being targeted for attacks. Among the latest incidents is the kidnapping of Chaldean priest Saad Sirop Hanna of Baghdad. The kidnappers have demanded a $1 million ransom.

More articles

Embryonic stem-cell research | Life ethics | Sexual ethics | Abuse in the Ozarks | Crime | Cleveland Catholic kickback case | Religious liberty | Malaysia | Church and state | Education | Politics | Church disputes | Missions & ministry | Pope | Other stories of interest

Embryonic stem-cell research:

  1. In new method for stem cells, viable embryos | The new technique would seem to remove the principal objection to stem cell research, the destruction of the human embryo (The New York Times)
  2. The stem-cell breakthrough that could lift ethical taboo (The Times, London)
  3. Early embryos can yield stem cells … and survive | Could extraction technique resolve ethical problems? (Nature)
  4. New method makes embryo-safe stem cells | Some opponents of the research said the method still doesn’t satisfy their objections and many stem cell scientists and their supporters called it inefficient and politically wrong-headed (Associated Press)
  5. Abstract Human embryonic stem cell lines derived from single blastomeres (Nature)
  6. New method makes embryo-safe stem cells | Scientists have for the first time grown colonies of prized human embryonic stem cells using a technique that does not require the destruction of embryos, an advance that could significantly reshape the ethical and political debates that have long entangled the research (The Washington Post)
  7. Stem-cell method preserves embryo | Mass. lab hopes to end standoff (The Boston Globe)
  8. Never enough on stem cells | Scientists should stop trying to appease religious conservatives about research those critics will never support (Editorial, Los Angeles Times)

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Life ethics:

  1. Economists feud on abortion, crime | A high-profile economist is challenging the conclusion in the best-selling book Freakonomics by University of Chicago professor Steven D. Levitt that the legalization of abortion in the early 1970s led to a major drop in murder and other violent crimes a generation later (Chicago Sun-Times)
  2. Chinese sentences advocate for peasants to 4 years in prison | Chen Guangcheng sought to organize a class-action lawsuit against forced abortions and sterilizations (The New York Times)

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Sexual ethics:

  1. FDA eases limits on Plan B sales | Women may buy the morning-after pill without a prescription — but only with proof they’re 18 or older, federal health officials ruled Thursday, capping a contentious 3-year effort to ease access to the emergency contraceptive (Associated Press)
  2. Conservatives try to curtail hotel porn | Pornographic movies now seem nearly as pervasive in America’s hotel rooms as tiny shampoo bottles, and the lodging industry shows little concern as conservative activists rev up a protest campaign aimed at triggering a federal crackdown (Associated Press)
  3. Nation’s first civil union ends | A lesbian couple who entered into the nation’s first same-sex civil union officially split up Wednesday (Associated Press)
  4. Labor to alter bill for gay couples | Labor in South Australia is drafting a “more conservative bill” to address the “thorny” issue of granting legal rights to gay and lesbian couples, to make it clear the Rann Government is not supporting homosexual marriage (The Australian)
  5. S.Africa’s cabinet gives nod to gay marriage | South Africa’s cabinet has given the green light for a bill allowing gay marriage, which would make it the first country in Africa to accord homosexual couples the same rights as their straight counterparts (Reuters)

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Abuse in the Ozarks:

  1. Mo. pastor accused of molesting girls | The minister of a rural Ozarks church, his wife and her two brothers have been accused of molesting young girls from their congregation for years, sometimes as part of a religious ritual, officials said (Associated Press)
  2. Authorities searching for Newton County pastor charged with felony sodomy (The Neosho Daily News, Mo.)
  3. Pastor, deacons charged | Sexual abuse charges spanning four decades were filed Tuesday against a McDonald County pastor, his wife, and two church deacons (The Neosho Daily News, Mo.)
  4. Pastor, deacons to surrender (The Neosho Daily News, Mo.)

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Crime:

  1. Stolen painting returns to Mexico | The 1728 work, taken from a church, was sold to a San Diego museum. Such thefts have soared in Latin America (Los Angeles Times)
  2. Also: Calif. museum gives up stolen painting | The San Diego Museum of Art relinquished an 18th-century painting to the Mexican government Wednesday after it was found to have been stolen from a rural Mexican church (Associated Press)
  3. Crosses of Bedford Park are still waging war on drugs | Only in Bedford Park did people publicly invoke God and raise crosses against drug dealers (The New York Times)
  4. Congregants urged to rally for pastor | Prosecutors spent most of Wednesday trying to persuade a jury to send the Rev. Terry Hornbuckle away to prison. But at night, congregants at Agape Christian Fellowship heard that this is not the time to abandon their church (Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, Tex.)
  5. Update: Jurors begin deliberating Hornbuckle sentence | Jurors in the Rev. Terry Hornbuckle’s sexual assault trial began deciding whether he will go to prison shortly before 10 a.m., after prosecutors told them he couldn’t handle probation because he “failed miserably” at following the rules while on bond after his arrest. (Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, Tex.)

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Cleveland Catholic kickback case:

  1. Former Bishop Pilla implicated in alleged kickback scheme | There is a new development in an alleged kickback scheme within the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland. New allegations implicate that former Bishop Anthony Pilla gave the green light for a secret church bank account (WEWS, Cleveland)
  2. Lawyer says priest duped by associates | The priest who supervised the men at the center of the Catholic Diocese’s financial scandal was duped by them, the priest’s lawyer said (The Plain Dealer, Cleveland)
  3. Saturday: Priest linked to kickback suspect | He okayed payments, court papers say (The Plain Dealer, Cleveland)

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Religious liberty:

  1. Indonesia says execution of death row Christians to go ahead | Indonesia will go ahead with the execution of three Indonesian Christians on death row even though their lawyers are seeking presidential clemency for them, police said (AFP)
  2. Also: Court wrong to reject plea: Lawyers for death row convicts | Lawyers for three Christians on death row said Wednesday the Supreme Court had exceeded its authority by refusing to process their second request for clemency (The Jakarta Post, Indonesia)
  3. Iraqi Christians on edge after priest’s kidnapping | Archbishop of Kirkuk says $1 million ransom demanded (Zenit.org, Catholic site)
  4. Also: Iraqi Christians caught in the crossfire | The news media often focus on the conflict between Shi’ites and Sunni Muslims in Iraq. But there are other ethnic and religious groups under attack.  The small Christian community in Iraq is now finding itself caught in the crossfire of sectarian violence. (Voice of America)

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Malaysia:

  1. Lina Joy case: Court will not rush on ruling | Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim said the court had to be careful as it was also a sensitive issue (New Straits Times, Malaysia)
  2. Court has yet to decide on Lina Joy’s appeal | There will be no decision yet on Lina Joy’s appeal to the Federal Court against the Court of Appeal’s majority decision on Sept 19 last year which ruled that the National Registration Department director-general was right in not allowing her application to delete the word “Islam” from her identity card. (The Star, Malaysia)
  3. Once Muslim, now Christian and caught in the courts | Malaysia’s Islamic Shariah courts have prevented a convert to Christianity from marrying a Christian man, creating a firestorm in a country that considers itself moderate and modern (The New York Times)
  4. Church that baptised Lina Joy, convert from Islam, is reported | The report claims that the Muslim’s baptism was “illegal”. The Federal Court that should pass sentence on the woman’s conversion is taking its time: “This is very sensitive issue.” Meanwhile, Islamic blogs are calling on people to pray for a “victory of Islam” in the country (AsiaNews.it, Catholic site)

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Church and state:

  1. No Trinity Cross winner | With one week to go before Independence Day next Thursday, August 31, there is no word with respect to the promised replacement for the country’s highest award, the Trinity Cross (Trinidad & Tobago Newsday)
  2. Strip converts of quota benefits, demand tribals | Jharkhand tribal leaders and priests want immediate stripping of reservation facilities of past members of their community who are now converted Christians (India eNews)
  3. Allow faith groups to work, offer hope in prisons | The gavel of judicial activism has fallen once again in an attempt to drive faith from the public square (Tony Perkins, Des Moines Register, Ia.)
  4. A clash between two cases involving equality and religious speech | How the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit’s decisions are inconsistent (Marci Hamilton, FindLaw.com)
  5. Freedom isn’t free if attorney needed | Public Expression of Religion Act would trample line between church and state (Ramona Ripston, Los Angeles Daily News)

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Education:

  1. Team prayer appealed | Contradicting the initial satisfaction it expressed with a federal court order allowing varsity football coach Marcus Borden to participate in team prayer, the East Brunswick school district filed a notice of appeal yesterday, asking for a reversal of the ruling (The Home News Tribune, East Brunswick, N.J.)
  2. Also: District appeals ruling in coach prayer case | E. Brunswick changes stance on federal court’s decision (Asbury Park Press, N.J.)
  3. Plan is to let PTAs send fliers home, curb others | The Montgomery County Board of Education is slated to consider a new policy today that would allow parent-teacher associations to send fliers home with students whenever they wanted but limit other community and business groups to distributions four times a year (The Washington Post)
  4. Alternative settlement offered in IR prayer lawsuit | A day after a federal judge unsealed a lawsuit detailing reasons the Indian River School District rejected a settlement in a school prayer case, the district’s attorney said it has drawn up an alternative settlement (The News Journal, Del.)
  5. Dorm with a spiritual dimension | Church starts national trend by building housing for Cal students (San Francisco Chronicle)
  6. Evolution major vanishes from approved federal list | Evolutionary biology has vanished from the list of acceptable fields of study for recipients of a federal education grant for low-income college students (The New York Times)
  7. Laws of change | Liberty University’s School of Law hopes its students will change society (The Roanoke Times, Va.)
  8. School religion rules unworkable—principals | Laws restricting religion in primary schools are impractical and unworkable, New Zealand Principals Federation president Pat Newman says (NZPA, New Zealand)

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Politics:

  1. Christian Coalition splits up | The Christian Coalition of Alabama announced Wednesday it is severing ties with the national organization, citing concerns over “left-leaning issues” promoted by its parent group and core issues on which the two groups disagree (Montgomery Advertiser, Ala.)
  2. Also: Christian Coalition losing chapters | Alabama joins Iowa and Ohio (Associated Press)
  3. Foreign policy evangelists | Today’s American evangelicals, numbering at least 40 million, are expanding their traditionally domestic focus and starting to wield some clout beyond U.S. borders (Council on Foreign Relations)
  4. Also: Backgrounder: Christian evangelicals and U.S. foreign policy (Council on Foreign Relations)
  5. Firing of evangelical rankles conservatives | The abrupt decision of the state Republican Party to cut ties with an evangelical advocate hired to reach out to voters on behalf of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s re-election has disappointed conservatives and fueled their concern about the governor’s principles (San Francisco Chronicle)
  6. Praying for victory | Kyle Fisk’s campaign might be praying that a letter, written by Ted Haggard on behalf of Fisk, doesn’t backfire on the candidate (Colorado Springs Independent)
  7. Liberals criticize ‘Patriot Pastors’ movement | A “new generation of Religious Right” pastors is turning churches into Republican political machines, three left-leaning interest groups charged on Tuesday (Religion News Service)
  8. Raese touts abortion issue in W.Va. race | Freshly endorsed by West Virginia’s leading anti-abortion group, Republican John Raese hopes the issue becomes a major part of his race with Sen. Robert C. Byrd (Associated Press)
  9. Fall books probe religion in politics | Religion in politics, a key topic of the 2004 presidential campaign and possibly again in 2008, is the subject of numerous books coming out this fall (Associated Press)
  10. Democrats unlikely to win evangelicals | The idea that voting behavior will change because younger evangelical leaders are softer-spoken and less tied to the Republican infrastructure than their predecessors, or because evangelicals are worried about the environment, sure looks like wishful thinking (Peter A. Brown, The Wichita Eagle, Kan.)

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Church disputes:

  1. Anglican archbishop takes up refugee case | Iranian man living at Vancouver church since 2004 welcomes words of support (The Globe and Mail, Toronto)
  2. Brandon woman rebuked by her church for criticizing city | A Brandon, Man., resident has been asked by her church to keep her criticism of city officials to herself, or worship somewhere else (CBC, Canada)
  3. Cell tower plan battled | Neighbors protest Cingular proposal (Whittier Daily News, Ca.)
  4. I’m listening, says archbishop to Anglicans | Melbourne Anglicans have a chance to shake off their reputation for infighting and disunity by co-operating with a new leader who comes with no political baggage (The Australian)

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Missions & ministry:

  1. To raise New Orleans, lift churches, pastors urge | African-American churches historically have been the heart and soul of black communities, and the Rev. C.T. Vivian – a Martin Luther King Jr. confidant from Atlanta – believes they hold the key to restoring New Orleans’ neighborhoods (The Christian Science Monitor)
  2. Also: Plan urges adopting New Orleans churches | Two civil rights activists announced plans Wednesday to involve churches nationwide in helping their New Orleans congregations recover from Hurricane Katrina (Associated Press)
  3. Hillsong thinks again on welfare | Hillsong Emerge, the only church charity in NSW to participate in a controversial welfare-to-work program, yesterday signalled its reservations about the Federal Government initiative (The Sydney Morning Herald)
  4. Mission of mercy | Marcella Ruch and an army of volunteers throw a rope to the uninsured (Colorado Springs Independent)
  5. Surfers catch waves of spirit | Group taking the message of Christ to the beaches (San Mateo County Times, Ca.)

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Pope:

  1. Body requires rest to nourish soul | The Pope recently suggested that people should try not to work too much. In a speech last Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI invoked the wisdom a 12th-century saint, saying too much work is bad for the soul (Morning Edition, NPR)
  2. Pope Benedict brings new style to Vatican | A much more reserved man than his predecessor, Benedict has installed a new, quieter style in the Vatican’s “Sacred Palaces” (Reuters)

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Other stories of interest:

  1. Ancient Indian port with links to Roman Empire faces extinction | Christianity may have been introduced to the sub-continent through Muziris, historians say. But Muziris mysteriously dropped off the map – maybe to war, plague, or disaster (AFP)
  2. Tribe says defendants avoiding being served | A Texas Indian tribe who filed a federal lawsuit against ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his associates says former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed and another defendant have been avoiding being served with a copy of the suit (Lufkin Daily News, Tex.)
  3. Spiritual forces behind rampant road accidents—pastor | The Reverend Lovelace Tetteh, Pastor of Word of Life Christian Centre in Ho has called on Churches to join forces in prayer to reduce the rampant road accidents in the country (Accra Mail, Ghana)
  4. Aborigines hurt by policy, says bishop | Aborigines are too often blamed for problems in their communities that are the fault of public policy, says Melbourne’s Anglican archbishop-elect, Northern Territory Bishop Philip Freier (The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
  5. Religion news in brief | Missionary to North Koreans returns home; Progressive National Baptist Convention gets new president; and other stories (Associated Press)
  6. God and science: You just can’t please everyone | Denying the real conflict between religion and science is a sure formula for confusion (Steve Fuller, New Scientist)

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News

Malaysia Bans Religious Speech

Compiled by Ted Olsen

Columnist

Plus: One killed in India church attack, stolen Jesus painting won’t stop debate, news values on gender vs. race, and other stories from online sources around the world.

Christianity Today August 24, 2006

Today’s Top Five

1. Malaysia bans all religious discussions The Malaysian government is concerned that debate over its Constitution’s freedom of religion clause is getting too heated. So it has banned any public speech about religion. “Public discussions such as these have the potential to create resentment among the public,” Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Aziz, who holds the title Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, explained to the Malaysian media Monday. “They have widened the gap between the different faiths and because of that, the government has decided to ban all public discussions, forums, and conferences on the matter before it gets out of hand.”

It’s not so bad, Nazri claimed. “Those who wish to discuss such matters are free to meet the Prime Minister,” he said. “We are not concerned with private discussions at home; what we worry about are inter-faith roadshows, public forums, and conferences. … The government has given Malaysians the freedom to discuss any current issue, even the freedom to criticize us in a constructive manner. We, however, cannot extend this freedom to religion because it can incite disharmony in our multi-religious society.”

Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, made it clear that the action was taken as much to protect Islam’s status in the country as it was to protect the peace.

“I have always said do not raise this matter [of religion],” he said. “But it emerges here, there, back and forth. If we take the attitude [not to raise religious matters], then only the religion [of Islam] has the status quo. But if it is continuously being raised, what will happen then? A conflict.”

Abdullah then criticized four state governments for not outlawing the spread of religions other than Islam. “Why are they still not doing it? To those states that have not [implemented such laws], they should consider. Take whatever actions needed,” he said.

Malaysia, frequently praised as one of the world’s most religiously tolerant officially Muslim nations, hosted the World Evangelical Fellowship (now the World Evangelical Alliance) meeting in 2001.

2. Pastor killed, five injured at Indian Baptist church shooting Locals say security forces attacked the Evangelical Baptist Convention Church in Churachandpur, Manipur, during Sunday night services. The Indian Army, however, says Pastor S. Ngaite was killed in the crossfire in a shootout between the military and “an armed cadre of an underground group.” Condemnation of the shooting has been widespread.

3. California GOP hires, fires Traditional Values Coalition lobbyist Facing criticism from religious conservatives that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is too liberal, the California Republican Party hired Ben Lopez, a lobbyist from Lou Sheldon’s Traditional Values Coalition. That angered gay and lesbian groups. The party says Lopez’s “work is now completed,” and he’s no longer working for the party. That apparently came as news to Lopez, the San Francisco Chronicle says. Conservative California Republican Mike Spence criticized the move, saying “they fired the only person who could do church outreach.”

Really? I mean, in all of California, the only person who can do church outreach for the state Republican party is a guy from the Traditional Values Coalition—a group that religious conservative groups have repeatedlycriticized, and that Sheldon himself has said is weak on reaching voters?

Speaking of criticism from religious conservatives, it seems that there are at least some in California who see Lopez’s work on behalf of a governor who differs with the TVC on gay rights, abortion, and other issues as TVC “betraying Christians.”

4. Jesus gone, but the debate continues Someone stole the Head of Christ painting from the wall outside the principal’s office at Bridgeport High School in West Virginia. The painting is the subject of a lawsuit from Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the state ACLU. “The most logical question is ‘Now that the picture’s gone, is it moot?'” Harrison County School superintendent Carl Friebel told the Associated Press. “We’re all in uncharted water here, but if it resurfaces, then the case wouldn’t be moot.”

The school board says it won’t accept a replacement until the case is resolved.

5. ‘Prejudice’ that makes the news—and that doesn’t The country’s newsrooms are apparently flabbergasted that a church—a Baptist church no less—would prohibit a woman from teaching men in a Sunday school classroom. As it turns out, that storyline is problematic, but the heavy news coveragecontinues anyway. Meanwhile, Fellowship Baptist Church in Saltillo, Mississippi, voted out a 12-year-old boy who “asked Jesus to live in his heart” at the church two weeks ago. Why the ban? Joe is biracial, and church members didn’t want the black side of his family attending with him.

They were “afraid Joe might come with his people and have blacks in the church,” church pastor John Stevens told the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. “I could not go along with that. There would always be a wall between us, so I resigned that night.”

Cliff Hardy, a local police officer, also resigned from the church. “My best friend is a black man,” he said. “I wouldn’t be comfortable going to a place where I couldn’t ask my best friend to go to church with me.”

The paper contacted church members, but they refused comment. Here’s perhaps one of the most amazing parts of the story: four days later, no media outlet has picked up the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal‘s reporting. Are media outlets too busy misreporting the woman Sunday school teacher story? Do they feel burned on bigotry stories, now that they know the story isn’t so simple?

Note: See our update on the Daily Journal article.

Quote of the day: “As more evangelical leaders acquire firsthand experience in foreign policy, they are likely to provide something now sadly lacking in the world of U.S. foreign policy: a trusted group of experts, well versed in the nuances and dilemmas of the international situation, who are able to persuade large numbers of Americans to support the complex and counterintuitive policies that are sometimes necessary in this wicked and frustrating—or, dare one say it, fallen—world.”

—The conclusion of Walter Russell Mead’s article “God’s Country,” which appears in the September/October 2006 issue of Foreign Affairs. The full 7,000-word article is worth a read.

More articles

Malaysia bans religious talk | India church attacked | China | Religious freedom | Hezbollah-Israel war | Christians and Islam | John Sentamu’s vigil | Sanctuary | Politics | Conservatism and religious belief | Church and state | Religious displays | Controversial Jesus painting stolen | Education | Higher education | Church building disputes | Baptist pastor quits amid real estate questions | Church robberies and vandalism | Crime | Abuse | Churches and sex offenders | That “church fires woman” story | Church life | Anglicanism | Catholicism | Pope on workaholism | Missions & ministry | People | AIDS | Life ethics | Contraceptives and Plan B | Sexual ethics | Boycott the (water) bottle | Art and entertainment | Books | History |The Exodus Decoded | Exhibits | Music | Travel | Other stories of interest

Malaysia bans religious talk:

  1. ‘No’ to discussing religion | The Government will not allow public discussions on issues that can arouse anger among the followers of different religions, the Dewan Rakyat was told Monday (Daily Express, Malaysia)
  2. ‘Ban necessary, but still room to talk’ | The door is not closed on those who are concerned about freedom of religion despite the ban on public discussion of inter-faith matters (New Straits Times, Malaysia)

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India church attacked:

  1. Pastor killed in crossfire | Tension gripped Manipur’s Churachandpur district after security personnel allegedly opened fire at the Evangelical Baptist Convention Church, killing a pastor and injuring at least five others (The Times of India)
  2. One killed, five injured in firing at Manipur church | One person was killed and five others were injured when unidentified persons fired at a crowded church in Churachandpur district of Manipur last night, official sources said (PTI, India)

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China:

  1. The war for China’s soul | As Christianity begins to reshape the nation, Time learns new details about a crackdown on one church (Time)
  2. China adds restrictions in effort to shake the faith of independent congregations | A national crackdown on underground churches comes at a time of booming growth in the churches across the country (The New York Times)
  3. China fires Christian reporter for church protest | Chinese authorities have dismissed a Christian reporter after he posted comments on the Internet denouncing the destruction of a church in the country’s east, the reporter said on Monday (Reuters)

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Religious freedom:

  1. Indonesia delays Bali bomber executions | Analysts say the timing of the executions may be linked to those of three Christian militants on death row for their roles in sectarian violence on Sulawesi island six years ago that left 200 Muslims dead. They say it would be politically difficult for the government to execute the Bali bombers before placing the Christians — who represent a minority in Indonesia — in front of a firing squad (Associated Press)
  2. Prosecutors won’t probe Madonna’s act | German prosecutors said Monday they have decided against opening an investigation into Madonna after the pop diva performed a controversial mock crucifixion scene at a weekend concert (Associated Press)

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Hezbollah-Israel war:

  1. Hezbollah has few fans among bitter Christians | Residents who fled the town during the war returned to find bloodstains on their couches, or dirty handtowels where Hezbollah fighters had used their toilets (The Sydney Morning Herald)
  2. Relief agencies find Hezbollah hard to avoid | Relief agencies that accept U.S. funds are barred from giving aid through Hezbollah, but the group pervades southern Lebanon (The New York Times)
  3. Archbishop tells church to stay in Lebanon: ‘You’ll make it’ | Chucrallah Nabil Hage, the Maronite Christian archbishop of Tyre, added a twist to his Sunday sermon here: hold your ground (USA Today)
  4. Pope laments length of Mideast conflict | Pope Benedict XVI has expressed dismay that the conflict in the Middle East has persisted for so long and lamented a lack of dialogue to bring lasting peace, according to messages released Monday by the Vatican (Associated Press)

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Christians and Islam:

  1. Religion in the dock in Muslim vilification appeal | It is impossible to vilify Islam without also vilifying Muslims, because the two are indistinguishable, the Victorian Court of Appeal was told yesterday (The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
  2. It takes two to beat words into ploughshares | Christians should look at their own history of violence sanctioned by faith (Darren Oldridge, The Times, London)

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John Sentamu’s vigil:

  1. Archbishop urges inclusion after vigil | Archbishop of York John Sentamu, the second most senior cleric in the Church of England, ended his week-long Middle East vigil on Sunday with a call for concerted international action to ensure a lasting peace (Reuters)
  2. Inside is an odd place to pitch a tent … | … But then it is his cathedral. Halfway through his week under canvas in a side chapel of York Minster, Archbishop John Sentamu tells Stephen Bates what inspired his highly unusual camping trip (The Guardian, London)
  3. Why I’ve pitched my tent in the cathedral | At a time when the Church of England is ignored or ridiculed, John Sentamu’s Old Testament protest about the carnage in the Middle East is a cri de coeur, he tells Martin Wroe (The Times, London)

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Sanctuary:

  1. Chicago woman’s stand stirs immigration debate | Immigrants’ rights groups and critics of illegal immigration are watching the case of a woman who defied an order to report for deportation and is seeking sanctuary in her church (The New York Times)
  2. Official: Gov’t won’t enter Ill. church | Immigration enforcement officers do not plan to enter a church where a single mother sought sanctuary rather than submit to deportation to Mexico, a government official said Friday (Associated Press)
  3. Church is sanctuary as deportation nears | Immigrant activist defies U.S. order (The Washington Post)
  4. Pitting secular law and `higher law’ | Woman misuses sanctuary tradition (Steven Lubet, Chicago Tribune)
  5. Sanctuary chic | A 1980s left-wing religious cause makes a comeback in the age of Iraq and illegal immigration (Mark Tooley, The American Spectator)

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Politics:

  1. State GOP suddenly dumps newly hired evangelical lobbyist | Ben Lopez, the chief lobbyist and spokesman for the Traditional Values Coalition — the Anaheim-based evangelical advocacy group led by the controversial Rev. Lou Sheldon — has been fired from his new job as an outreach worker with the California Republican Party, sources said Tuesday (San Francisco Chronicle)
  2. Schwarzenegger hears rumbles from the Right | Conservatives see some of the governor’s stands as liberal. If too few vote, his reelection could be threatened (Los Angeles Times)
  3. Conservatives put faith in church voter drives | Evangelicals seek to sign up a new flock of GOP supporters in states with crucial November races (Los Angeles Times)
  4. Diocese cancels nun’s Duluth talk because of anti-Bush newspaper ad | The author of “Dead Man Walking” was scheduled to speak at an October Catholic fundraiser, which is now canceled (Duluth News Tribune, Minn.)
  5. Is the Catholic Church pro-immigrant? You bet. | The Catholic Church — an unrelenting opponent of abortion and homosexuality and troubled by its own priest-abuse scandals — has been called many things, but fashionable isn’t often among them. Yet fashion is why some critics now speculate the church has involved itself in today’s third rail of politics: immigration reform (Paulette Chu Miniter, USA Today)
  6. Lawmakers balk at Christian Coalition survey | The Christian Coalition of Alabama wants to know where candidates for the state Legislature stand on a variety of issues, ranging from prayer in school to abortion to whether people who are homosexual should be allowed to serve in the Alabama National Guard. (Associated Press)
  7. Also: Christian Coalition itself should answer questions | Smart voters will be skeptical about the Christian Coalition’s agenda while realizing that candidates’ reaction to the questionnaire does reveal something about them (Editorial, The Decatur Daily, Ala.)
  8. Casey touts independence but shuns tough issues | Candidate prides himself on his independence from national Democrats on hot button issues like abortion. But his independence quickly evaporates when it comes to other thorny political issues such as Social Security reform or whether he would have supported the Iraq war resolution (The Washington Times)
  9. Also: Casey embraces his ‘independent streak’ | Interview excerpts (The Washington Times)
  10. ‘Religious agenda’ fails to toss Turner | No challenger in Halton riding; Tory MP to be acclaimed (The Toronto Star)
  11. ‘Heads I win, tails you lose’ approach to religion | It would seem that it’s OK to have God in politics as long as he’s on the progressive side (Dennis Shanahan, The Australian)
  12. God’s country? | Religion has always been a major force in U.S. politics, but the recent surge in the number and the power of evangelicals is recasting the country’s political scene — with dramatic implications for foreign policy. This should not be cause for panic: evangelicals are passionately devoted to justice and improving the world, and eager to reach out across sectarian lines. (Walter Russell Mead, Foreign Affairs)

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Conservatism and religious belief:

  1. Truthtelling | Heather Mac Donald is right (Michael Novak, National Review Online)
  2. Religiously arguing | A response to Michael Novak (Heather Mac Donald, National Review Online)

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Church and state:

  1. Church-state issues topple proposal to restore missions | Concerned over possible church-state conflicts, legislators have rejected an effort to channel state funds into the restoration of California’s deteriorating missions (Los Angeles Times)
  2. Lawsuit over prayer rejected | Federal court judge rules in city’s favor on prayer policy; Rutherford Institute says case will be appealed (The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, Va.)
  3. Also: Prayers from the bully pulpit | A Fredericksburg councilman can offer nonsectarian prayers. He can’t, though, tell citizens what they ought to believe (Editorial, The Roanoke Times, Va.)
  4. Church faces fine for tree removal | First Baptist elders want penalty waived for lack of funds (Daytona Beach News-Journal, Fla.)
  5. Gay police advert investigated after religious hate complaint | A criminal investigation has been started by Scotland Yard into an advertisement from the Gay Police Association that blamed religion for a 74 per cent increase in homophobic crime (The Times, London)
  6. Judge: Navy must turn over some e-mails in chaplain case | The Navy must turn over to defense attorney s by the close of business to day some of its e-mails concerning a chaplain charged with disobeying an order by appearing in uniform at a protest outside the White House, a military judge has ruled (Associated Press)
  7. Praying aloud gets man jailed | Something’s wrong with police priorities (Licia Corbella, The Calgary Sun)

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Religious displays:

  1. Judge allows Ten Commandments monument | A federal judge on Friday said a Ten Commandments monument outside a courthouse can stay, rejecting arguments that it promotes Christianity at the expense of other religions (Associated Press)
  2. Also: A particularly literate and engaging decision in Oklahoma 10 Commandments case | Only a full reading does justice to the opinion (Howard M. Friedman, Religion Clause)
  3. Commandments set for Idaho vote | The Idaho Supreme Court has authorized the nation’s first ballot initiative to let voters decide whether a Boise public park should be allowed to have a Ten Commandments monument, like the one removed two years ago (The Washington Times)
  4. Swords being crossed over memorial to Katrina victims | A New Orleans-area parish wants to erect the symbol on the storm’s first anniversary. But the ACLU says the effort is unconstitutional (Los Angeles Times)
  5. Feds now control Mount Soledad cross site | Bush signs bill; biggest foe expects court ruling soon (The San Diego Union-Tribune)
  6. Also: Bush signs law to save war memorial cross | President Bush sided with cross supporters who contend that it forms part of a secular war memorial on a hill in San Diego (The New York Times)
  7. County deciding where to appeal Bible display case | Plaintiff’s lawyer says the verdict to stand, whatever court is selected (Houston Chronicle)

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Controversial Jesus painting stolen:

  1. Theft doesn’t stop school-church fight | Board of Education won’t let the theft of a painting of Jesus from Bridgeport High School stand in the way of its fight to preserve its decidedly Christian aesthetic (Associated Press)
  2. Contentious W.Va. Jesus painting stolen | So much for “Thou shalt not steal.” Just before 4 a.m. Thursday, an intruder snatched the contentious painting of Jesus Christ from the halls of Bridgeport High School (Associated Press)
  3. Donors defend school’s Jesus | A divided school board in West Virginia has decided to use about $150,000 in donated money to fund a legal fight to keep a print of Jesus Christ on display in one of its high schools that has been there for more than 40 years (The Washington Times)

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Education:

  1. Court ruling prompts ban on groups sending fliers home with students | Montgomery County school officials announced yesterday that they are temporarily banning outside groups such as parent-teacher associations and the Boy Scouts from distributing fliers about activities and events in student backpacks (The Washington Post)
  2. Christian themes split UC, high schools | Lawsuit argues for acceptance of texts and courses (The Orange County Register)
  3. ‘Christmas Break’ ruins IR deal | Indian River district: Terms to settle prayer suit too harsh (The News Journal, Wilmington, Del.)
  4. Teenager’s crucifix banned from school | Jamie Derman, 17, told News Ltd newspapers she was stunned when told to remove her crucifix or she could be suspended (AAP, Australia)
  5. Christian band to appeal ruling that halted suit | A Christian rock band barred from playing during an anti-drug assembly at Rossford High is appealing a federal court ruling that dismissed its lawsuit against the school district (The Toledo Blade, Oh.)
  6. Parents lobby for military-style academy | Some parents of children at a controversial Lauderhill private school want the academy to reopen (The Miami Herald)
  7. Also: Christian school explores options | Parents hope Back to Basics can reopen this week (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
  8. Earlier: Unlicensed academy closes doors after student death | The principal of a Lauderhill Christian military academy wouldn’t discuss the future of her school after city officials found it lacked an occupational license (The Miami Herald)
  9. Assembly prayers illegal, schools to be told | State schools will soon receive a new set of guidelines on religion, including a warning that prayers or Christian karakia in primary schools are illegal in most circumstances (The New Zealand Herald)
  10. Schools get religion warning | Christian principles violate rights code; Winkler cautioned against ‘poisoned environment’ (Winnipeg Free Press)

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Higher education:

  1. Insults allowed at Georgia Tech | Suit alters speech code in housing (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
  2. History repeats for NSU patrons | When the college that would grow into Norfolk State University struggled to get off the ground in the mid-1930s, black churches made sure it had a firm footing. Today, NSU, now in its 71st year, has a growing endowment, but it is still struggling to build a rock-solid base of support for continued growth. And, once again, black churches are leading the way (The Virginian-Pilot)

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Church building disputes:

  1. Hurting for tax revenue, town ponders a freeze on churches | 51 houses of worship crowd out businesses in Houston suburb (The Washington Post)
  2. Churches upset with Scottsdale zone plan | More than two dozen religious leaders congregated at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Scottsdale on Monday to map a strategy for a looming battle. They’ll need all the resources they can muster if they want to defeat proposed new zoning codes that could limit where and how they operate in Scottsdale (The Arizona Republic)
  3. Church wins legal battle | Powerhouse Church of God in Christ.  However, the past ten years have been devastating. The church’s original building burnt down in a 1996 fire, and then it later had its tax exemption revoked (KAUZ, Wichita Falls)
  4. Jury awards Hannibal church $348,000 for land | A Ralls County jury has ruled the Living Water Fellowship Church should receive $348,000 for its property on Hannibal’s south side (Quincy Herald-Whig, Ill.)
  5. Judge: City violates church’s rights | In 2001 a Christian center was denied a permit to move to a downtown building (The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, Ca.)
  6. Church, city clash over land | Parish says Southfield blocking entry into building (The Detroit News)
  7. City work at church on memo | Gallatin Mayor Don Wright’s reported approval for a city employee to do church repair work on the city’s dime has become the subject of a city attorney’s memorandum. (The News Examiner, Gallatin, Tenn.)
  8. Also: Mayor defends actions | Gallatin Mayor Don Wright said if it’s a crime to use the city’s resources to help a church, lock him up (The News Examiner, Gallatin, Tenn.)
  9. Praying for intervention | Development threatens Baltimore’s historic St. Stanislaus Church. There’s a better choice for its fate (The Washington Post)
  10. Land prices crimp church construction | Houses of God are starting to look a little different in grow ing places like Medina County. Pastors are preaching in old stores, banquet halls, rec centers and public schools. They are forced into unusual settings by high land prices that make building a church nearly impossible (The Plain Dealer, Cleveland)

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Baptist pastor quits amid real estate questions:

  1. Pastor steps down; land deal being reviewed | Pastor Frank Harber submitted his resignation to First Baptist Church of Colleyville this week as church officials were reviewing a questionable deal in which he bought land for well below its value (Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, Tex.)
  2. Colleyville pastor questioned on land deal (WFAA, Dallas)
  3. Pastoral perks can be unethical, even illegal, Texas church finds | Frank Harber, pastor of First Baptist Church of Colleyville, Texas, resigned Aug. 18 amid allegations he benefited from an improper real estate deal. But his is only the latest case illustrating the fine line between ethical and non-ethical benefits that pastors receive from often well-meaning parishioners (Associated Baptist Press)

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Church robberies and vandalism:

  1. College raises money to rebuild rural churches in arson case | Three former students of the college, Birmingham-Southern, were charged in a series of church fires in Alabama this year (The New York Times)
  2. Church robbers strike 75 times in two months | Posing as builders, the raiders stripped lead from roofs, snatching statues and, on one occasion, stealing medieval bells. While the thieves have netted tens of thousands of pounds, repairing the churches has cost up to £200,000 (The Telegraph, London)
  3. Suspect nabbed at S.J. church | Man sought in relation to Modesto robbery (Stockton Record, Ca.)
  4. Hero priest stops theft at church | A Mission Hill priest went above and beyond doing the Lord’s work yesterday when his divine intervention into a burglary in progress at his parish made possible the arrests of five hooligans (Boston Herald)
  5. Grail search theory over church vandalism | A mysterious incident of vandalism at a Shropshire church may have been caused by enthusiasts looking for the Holy Grail, it was claimed today (Shropshire Star, England)
  6. Vandals hit church | Pentagram among symbols painted on building (Times-Mail, Bedford, Ind.)

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Crime:

  1. Former church CFO indicted by FBI | Feds charge ex-CFO of Cleveland’s Roman Catholic Diocese in a kickback scheme (CFO.com)
  2. Massive hunt on for Greek ‘miracle’ icon | Police set up roadblocks and launched helicopter searches Saturday for a 700-year-old religious icon that was stolen from a monastery in southern Greece (Associated Press)
  3. Pastor recalled as strong leader | Fatally stabbed in Jamaica Saturday (The Boston Globe)
  4. Also: Boston minister slain in Jamaica | A Jamaica Plain minister was killed while visiting his native Jamaica after an unknown man attacked him with a machete on Saturday night, according to Jamaican state police (The Boston Globe)
  5. Christian police chief sees Satan at work in Birmingham | Homicides rise dramatically (Associated Press, via The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
  6. Minister arrested outside Mormon pageant | For the second week in a row, an evangelical Christian minister has been arrested outside a Mormon-themed pageant in northern Utah (Daily Herald, Provo, Ut.)
  7. ‘Slow start’ for Winkler | Too many cameras kept Winkler from starting new job (The Jackson Sun, Tenn.)
  8. Also: Winkler seeks refuge in former hometown | Mary Winkler is back in McMinnville, and some residents say it’s no big deal. Only now she is awaiting trial in her husband’s death (The Tennessean, Nashville)
  9. N.Y. priest protests $115 parking ticket | The Rev. Cletus Forson, of St. Andrew the Apostle Church in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn, was ticketed last month when he responded to an emergency call from a parishioner afraid her mother would die without receiving the sacrament of the sick (Associated Press)
  10. Iraq Church gets ransom demand for priest-report | The Catholic Church in Iraq has received a ransom demand for a priest who was kidnapped in Baghdad, Rome-based Catholic news agency Misna said on Tuesday (Reuters)

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Abuse:

  1. Alleged sex assault sidelines 2 priests | The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago has asked two priests to leave a northwest suburban parish while authorities investigate the allegations of a 26-year-old Palatine man who said he was sexually assaulted this month in the priests’ home (Chicago Tribune)
  2. Also: 2 priests suspended over sex allegations | The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago has suspended two priests from a Palatine parish amid allegations one of them sexually assaulted a 26-year-old man (Chicago Sun-Times)
  3. Pastor at St. Mary’s Catholic Church resigns | The Rev. Richard Mickey, pastor of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Jackson and St. John’s Catholic Church in Brownsville, cited personal reasons and a pending civil suit that accuses him of sexual abuse as his reasons for resigning (The Jackson Sun, Tenn.)
  4. Also: New pastor named as Father Mickey departs | Several St. Mary’s Catholic Church parishioners were moved to tears when their pastor, the Rev. Richard Mickey, read his resignation letter during Mass on Sunday (The Jackson Sun, Tenn.)
  5. Ex-pastor sentenced for rape of girl, 15 | Lewis J. Lee, 54, the former pastor of the Christian Baptist Church in Sherburne, was sentenced Monday to 9 1/3 to 28 years (Press & Sun-Bulletin, Binghamton, N.Y.)
  6. Hornbuckle guilty of sexual assault | Hornbuckle — the 44-year-old founder of Agape Christian Fellowship in southeast Arlington and the man everyone called “bishop”—faces a sentence ranging from probation to 20 years in prison on each charge (Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, Tex.)
  7. Also: A bad pastor gets an exemplary trial | On the one hand, the courtroom drama was just as I previously described it: a trashy soap opera with a plot full of drugs, sex, religion and celebrity. On the other hand, however, the Terry Hornbuckle sexual assault trial was a textbook case of good lawyering on both sides, a patient and even-handed presiding judge and a jury that took its duties very, very seriously (Bob Ray Sanders, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, Tex.)

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Churches and sex offenders:

  1. Some neighbors satisfied with Lodi pastor’s explanation of past offenses | Some doubtful (Lodi News-Sentinel, Ca.)
  2. Also: Pastor turns out to be sex offender | But many are willing to forgive (The Record, Stockton, Ca.)
  3. County avoids church issue | Muscogee County Sheriff’s Dept. waiting for decision in court over moving sex offenders who live near churches (The Ledger-Enquirer, Columbus, Oh.)
  4. Also: Sex offenders told to leave church areas | Lesser-known provision nets handful of arrests (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

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That “church fires woman” story:

  1. Church fires teacher for being woman | The minister of a church that dismissed a female Sunday School teacher after adopting what it called a literal interpretation of the Bible says a woman can perform any job — outside of the church (Associated Press)
  2. For ousted teacher, limelight too bright | Dismissal from church role sparks countrywide support, media attention (Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.)
  3. Friday: A woman’s place | How a church deals with its staff and volunteers is generally a matter for its clergy, church leaders and congregation. But the case of First Baptist Church of Watertown and its action toward Mary F. Lambert, a member for 60 years, is a bit different (Watertown Daily Times, N.Y., link now dead)
  4. Thursday: Church teacher sacked | A First Baptist Church member who recently criticized the church’s direction publicly was dismissed Thursday as the congregation’s Sunday School teacher (Watertown Daily Times, N.Y., link now dead)

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Church life:

  1. Pastor leaves after church turns away biracial boy | Twelve-year-old Joe recently asked Jesus to live in his heart. Yet the church where Joe accepted his Savior not even two weeks before will no longer allow the biracial boy to enter (Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal)
  2. Friends frustrate some of their flock | Quakers bogged down by process, two leaders say (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
  3. Church members sue popular pastor, treasurer | New Mount Olive Baptist Church’s Rev. Mack King Carter faces a new lawsuit that also names Benjamin Williams, the church’s treasurer and chairman of the Broward School Board (The Miami Herald)
  4. LaBorg: ‘Pastor’s passion — not power trip’ | School’s future at heart of pastor, teacher fracas (The News Examiner, Gallatin, Tenn.)
  5. Priest removed from St. Joseph Church | Worm was pastor for seven years (The Morning News, Springdale, Ark.)
  6. A church debates where sports fit in | When the Rev. John McCartney arrived at St. Matthew Roman Catholic Church in Dix Hills as its new pastor just weeks ago, one of his first decisions was also one of his most divisive. He shut down the entire St. Matthew athletic program, including its popular summer day camp, saying the organization that served 2,000 children had become too large and complex for the church to run. His decision came as the Suffolk County district attorney began looking into possible financial irregularities in the program run by a Dix Hills couple  (Newsday)
  7. Bellevue church, pastor go separate ways to heal | Bellevue Community Church leaders say they are moving ahead with a search for their new pastor by hiring a nationally recognized search firm. Elders are also in the process of having hours and hours worth of “cottage meetings” with their flock, attempting to heal wounds from the tumultuous ousting of the popular pastor, David Foster (Nashville City Paper)
  8. Moving day for a Santa Ana parish | Our Lady of La Vang’s dedication is done in 3 languages. It’s absorbing a nearby Latino church (Los Angeles Times)
  9. Sunday: New church blends two cultures in Santa Ana | Our Lady of La Vang, which will be dedicated today, seeks to unify Vietnamese and Latino Roman Catholic congregations (Los Angeles Times)
  10. For this priest, ‘heaven’s the limit’ | A priest known for celebrating “jazz Mass” at a New Orleans landmark is now assigned to Texas (Ft. Worth Star-Telegram)
  11. Lutheran bishop to release book, retire | Blom helped keep churches together after hurricanes (Houston Chronicle)
  12. What are Born-agains up to going to church daily? | Frequenting church attracts varying interpretations and reactions among spouses. While some families see it and interprete it positively, others find fault with the practice (The Monitor, Uganda)
  13. Might as well be Latin | Church liturgy needs to use more metaphors in order to help people communicate with God in new ways (Glynn Cardy, The Guardian, London)

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Anglicanism:

  1. Lawsuit against bishop dismissed | A bitter theological battle between six Episcopal priests and a Connecticut bishop that is rooted in a dispute over the role of gays in the church has no place in a civil courtroom, a federal judge has ruled (The Hartford Courant, Ct.)
  2. Also: Federal judge: Church, not court, should settle Episcopal dispute | Court dismisses lawsuit brought by six parishes that had sought to break away from Connecticut diocese over bishop’s support for election of gay bishop (Associated Press)
  3. Holy downshifters swell vicars’ ranks | The Church of England has become the latest destination for downshifting professionals in search of a quieter, more vocational lifestyle (The Times, London)
  4. Fairfax congregation could leave U.S. Episcopal Church | Truro to have 40-day period of discernment to decide the issue (Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.)
  5. Virginia cleric to lead new Anglican group | Assumption of bishop’s post in Nigeria Sunday could add to tensions in church (Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.)
  6. Archbishop fears gay divide | Dr Rowan Williams said that his “nightmare” was that the worldwide Church could disintegrate into rival groups within a decade, with each demanding a share of the Church’s wealth in costly court actions (The Telegraph, London)
  7. Canterbury asks for bishops meeting | The spiritual leader of world Anglicanism has asked six Episcopal bishops to meet in New York next month to try and resolve differences over homosexuality tearing at their church (Associated Press)
  8. Religion in the news: Gordon-Conwell goes Anglican | A new concentration in Anglican-Episcopal studies gives traditionalist Episcopalians a place in one of the nation’s best-known conservative seminaries at a time when many don’t feel at home in their own church (Associated Press)
  9. City’s Anglican bishop named | It was the fourth and final scheduled night of the second election synod since Peter Watson resigned 13 months ago. The first in February broke off in stalemate after four days, and senior Anglicans feared the diocese would be seen as dysfunctional if it couldn’t elect someone this time (The Age, Melbourne, Australia)

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Catholicism:

  1. Pope replaces Intelligent Design critic at observatory | Pope Benedict XVI has appointed a new director of the Vatican Observatory, replacing the Rev. George Coyne, a long-serving Jesuit astronomer and a vocal opponent of “intelligent design” theory (Religion News Service)
  2. When sales fall, they call St. Joe | St. Joseph statues have long been used by sellers to help move property. Tradition has it that if you bury a statue upside down and facing the property you are trying to sell, St. Joseph will direct a buyer your way (The Boston Globe)
  3. Priests struggle to cope with new Polish flock | Roman Catholic clergy are so overwhelmed by the influx of devout Poles to Britain that they are appealing for priests to come from Poland to help them cope (The Telegraph, London)
  4. DiFranco willing to stand up for her beliefs | There are those who might characterize Eileen McCafferty DiFranco as a publicity hound because she has not remained silent about celebrating Mass as a Roman Catholic priest. But the 54-year-old Philadelphia resident said it is only natural for her as a former teacher to want to educate the world about women such as herself who want to serve God as men in their religion do (Editorial, Delco Times, Pa.)

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Pope on workaholism:

  1. Pope: Working too hard harms the spirit | Benedict quoted Bernard as advising pontiffs to “watch out for the dangers of an excessive activity, whatever … the job that you hold, because many jobs often lead to the ‘hardening of the heart,’ as well as ‘suffering of the spirit, loss of intelligence'” (Associated Press)
  2. Also: Pope says don’t work too hard (Reuters)
  3. You won’t become a saint by working too hard, says Pope | For those either gearing themselves up to return to the office or factory after a summer break or rushing to clear their desks before going away, the Pope yesterday had a message: don’t work too hard, it’s bad for the spirit (The Times, London)

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Missions & ministry:

  1. Pastor sued by missionaries | Church hit by payment row (The Belfast Telegraph)
  2. Shopping spree | How to get free books, CDs, and movies from Focus on the Family—thereby taking money out of the pockets of anti-gay bigots—in 12 easy steps (The Stranger, Seattle)
  3. Faith in action | Before agencies aided Katrina’s victims, religious groups did – and still do (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
  4. Doing unto seniors | Religions are picking up where public services leave off (Newsday)
  5. Years after genocide, shipping hope to Rwanda | Esther’s Aid for Needy and Abandoned Children has foot, clothing, and other items, but is short of shipping money (The New York Times)
  6. Religious differences unite campers | Christians, Jews, Muslims mix, play, teach, and learn (The Boston Globe)
  7. Inmates find hope in religious program | Volunteers at prison offer a way to reform (The Toledo Blade)
  8. Evangelism in Major League Baseball | Are the Faith Days about God or ticket sales? (ABC News/ESPN)
  9. Creature comfort | Lort Smith’s appointment of the world’s first animal hospital chaplain recognises the bond between pet and owner (The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
  10. Anglicans desert welfare to work | The Anglican Church is the latest religious organisation to back out of the government’s controversial welfare to work program. The church’s welfare arm, Anglicare, joins a growing list of faith-based welfare organisations turning away from the program, which pays charities to help vulnerable Australians who have been stripped of unemployment benefits for failing to meet new job seeking requirements (AAP, Australia)

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People:

  1. Purpose Driven Life: Can Rick Warren change the world? | He’s an evangelical superstar. His runaway best seller has transformed lives. But can Rick Warren’s message change hell-on-Earth or has he bitten off more than he can chew? (Fox News)
  2. Faithful to God, science | Dr. Francis Collins has mapped the human genome and embraced Christ. He sees no conflict, but there are skeptics on both sides (Los Angeles Times)
  3. Andrew Young steps down from Wal-Mart | Civil rights leader Andrew Young, who was hired to help Wal-Mart Stores Inc. improve its public image, said early Friday he was stepping down from his position as head of an outside support group amid criticism for remarks seen as racially offensive (Associated Press)
  4. Protestant church leader passes away | Kang Won-yong, the senior pastor who has led Korea’s protestant churches for the past decades, died at the age of 89 (The Korea Herald)
  5. Has Christianity deteriorated into a cult following? | Saying there’s no such place as hell has cost one of the most prominent spiritual leaders in the country his job, church and place on Christian radio (News-Record, Greenboro, N.C.)
  6. Relative of Joel Osteen believed slain | Officials continue to investigate mysterious death of pastor’s great aunt (Associated Press)
  7. The joys of life without God | Skeptics Society founder Michael Shermer explains why Darwin matters, how believing in God is the same as believing in astrology, and why it doesn’t take divine faith to experience something bigger than ourselves (Salon)
  8. Shun Mel Gibson | Obscurity, not public service announcements, should be the consequence for Gibson’s transgressions (Editorial, Los Angeles Times)
  9. Domino’s illuminatio mea | Tom Monaghan goes from pizza delivery to educational deliverance (Naomi Schaefer Riley, The Wall Street Journal)

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AIDS:

  1. Evangelist joins Global Fund chief in battle against AIDS | Evangelist and best-selling author Rick Warren and Richard Feachem, who oversees billions in AIDS spending, said Wednesday that they’ll team up to channel more money to faith-based groups in Warren’s global church network (USA Today)
  2. African clerics ask for divine help in AIDS fight | What would Jesus do about AIDS? The question has drawn together thousands of African Christians who are praying God will provide the solution to the epidemic devastating the continent (Reuters)
  3. Sen. Clinton delays AIDS law’s renewal, citing cut in N.Y. funds | Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is holding up renewal of the primary federal law that battles HIV/AIDS, the 1990 Ryan White Act, causing a rift among activists on the subject and threatening approval of the legislation this year (The Washington Post)
  4. And now for the good news | Progress is being made in the fight against AIDS in Africa, thanks in no small part to the president’s aid program. But that’s not what some people want to hear (John Donnelly, The Boston Globe)
  5. Fighting AIDS with ABC plan | If Rick Warren can get Bill Clinton, Angelina Jolie, Bill Gates and Kofi Annan cooperating with, say, the Catholic Church and a myriad of other faith-based servants in doing what works — changing behavior — well, preach it, brother! (Kathryn Jean Lopez)

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Life ethics:

  1. Anti-abortion activists eye inner cities | There are more than 2,300 crisis pregnancy centers across America, yet relatively few in inner cities where abortion rates are typically highest (Associated Press)
  2. Florida restricts 5 abortion clinics | State agencies have accused a doctor of failing to follow proper procedures in two late-term abortions, suspended his license and blocked his five clinics from performing abortions (Associated Press)
  3. Also: 5 clinics shut on accusations of late-term abortions | Florida officials have halted abortions at five clinics in the state — two indefinitely — and have suspended the medical license of the problem-plagued owner of the facilities in connection with accusations that he performed illegal late-term abortions (The Washington Times)
  4. Update: Abortion doctor appeals suspension | A doctor suspended for allegedly performing two improper abortions filed an appeal Tuesday defending the procedures (Associated Press)
  5. Husband takes Schiavo fight back to politicians | Michael Schiavo, whose wife was the focus of a national debate about life and death, has emerged as a political weapon (The New York Times)
  6. Mo. plans appeal in inmate abortion case | The state will appeal a federal court ruling requiring that pregnant inmates be taken to abortion clinics when they request the procedure, Attorney General Jay Nixon said (Associated Press)
  7. Stem cell bill worries Abbott | Health Minister Tony Abbott has warned that any move to overturn a ban on therapeutic cloning would be just the tip of the iceberg when it came to the growing demands of some scientists (The Sydney Morning Herald)
  8. Petitioning for life | “I had an abortion,” Ms. Magazine urges its readers to declare. How about “I wasn’t aborted”? (Julia Gorin, The Wall Street Journal)

Back to index

Contraceptives and Plan B:

  1. Bush supports limits on morning-after pill | President George W. Bush said on Monday he supports restricting access to emergency contraception for minors, as regulators weigh wider access to the “morning-after” pill (Associated Press)
  2. Also: Anti-abortion groups oppose FDA nominee | Anti-abortion groups are urging President Bush to withdraw his nominee to head the Food and Drug Administration, angry that the agency may allow nonprescription sales of the morning-after pill (Associated Press)
  3. States move to legalize pharmacists’ right to refuse | Lawmakers in nearly half the states have introduced bills in this year’s legislative sessions to allow pharmacists not to fill prescriptions for emergency contraception or other birth-control medicines based on their religious or moral objections (The Washington Times)
  4. Rights board says plans can’t exclude contraceptives | The Michigan Civil Rights Commission came to Muskegon Monday to tell employers they must cover prescription contraceptives for women, just like many of them cover Viagra and Cialis, which are male sexual enhancement drugs (Muskegon Chronicle)
  5. God’s protection | Evangelicals embrace the “contraception culture” (Christine J. Gardner, The Wall Street Journal)

Back to index

Sexual ethics:

  1. Church of God of Prophecy rethinks position against divorce, remarriage | East Tennessee-based group wrestles with ever-increasing rates (The Tennessean, Nashville)
  2. Debate grows on out-of-wedlock laws | Some 1.6 million Americans in seven states are breaking old anticohabitation rules (The Christian Science Monitor)
  3. His God doesn’t hate fags | Andrew Marin wants to build a bridge between his fundamentalist Christian peers and his friends in the gay community. And oddly enough, some of them want to cross it (Chicago Reader)
  4. New law helps same-sex couples | Some advantages of retirement accounts once reserved for spouses can now be used by other beneficiaries, a change lauded by gay and lesbian groups as a boon for unmarried couples (Associated Press)
  5. Same-sex marriage is surely a civil right | Many blacks oppose such unions for religious reasons, but bigotry is bigotry, even if it’s cloaked in faith. Blacks should know this better than most (Sheryl McCarthy, USA Today)
  6. “Beyond gay marriage” | The stated goal of these prominent gay activists is no longer merely the freedom to live as they want (Ryan T. Anderson, The Weekly Standard)

Back to index

Boycott the (water) bottle:

  1. Drink tap water, church urges | United Church opposes selling of ‘sacred gift’ (Ottawa Citizen)
  2. United Church considers boycott of bottled water | Richard Chambers, the social policy co-ordinator with the national office of the church, said that water is a human right, and no one should profit from it (CBC, Canada)
  3. Church policy on tap | The well-meaning United Church of Canada is coming out against bottled water because doing so is “commodification” of a basic resource (Editorial, Calgary Herald)

Back to index

Art and entertainment:

  1. They pity the fools | Mr. T isn’t the only 1980s TV personality using retro-star status to spread his gospel (Time)
  2. Fire and brimstone, guns and ammo | Left Behind: Eternal Forces isn’t due out until October, but its violence has attracted considerable controversy already (The Washington Post)
  3. God moves in hilarious ways | The unknown comedy duo God’s Pottery have lit up the Edinburgh Fringe. Praise the Lord (The Times, London)

Back to index

Books:

  1. Books on the Book of Books | Top tomes on the Bible (Roberta Alter, The Wall Street Journal)
  2. Christian comic books still seeking a boffo market | Artists hope to draw more readers to graphic novels, which have yet to find a wide audience (Los Angeles Times)
  3. 9/11 book rankles Presbyterian faith | A book suggesting the September 11 attacks were engineered by the U.S. government is raising hackles among the faithful because its publisher is an agency of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the largest of several Presbyterian denominations (The Washington Times)
  4. Also: The truth behind 9/11 | According to a new book from the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, Bush brought down the towers (Mark Tooley, The Weekly Standard)
  5. The village atheist | Daniel Dennett’s answers avoid the Big Questions (Thomas W. Merrill, The Weekly Standard)
  6. Going green with God | In his new book Serve God, Save the Planet, Dr. J. Matthew Sleeth tells the story of his transition from the “good life” to a life built on serving God by being a proper steward of the environment (The Washington Times)
  7. Mind matters | Ramesh Ponnuru’s scary thoughts on life and moral status in The Party of Death (Neil Sinhababu, The American Prospect)

Back to index

History:

  1. Archaeologists challenge link between Dead Sea Scrolls and ancient sect | Two archaeologists are raising new doubts about the link between the Dead Sea Scrolls and an ancient settlement known as Qumran (The New York Times)
  2. What Luther wrought | Protestant Europe and the invention of the modern world (Jay Weiser, The Weekly Standard)

Back to index

The Exodus Decoded:

  1. ‘The Exodus Decoded’: A biblical theory in video game graphics | Simcha Jacobovici presents theories of ancient religious history that in a less stentorian voice might sound like baloney (The New York Times)
  2. Plagued by no doubts, a filmmaking detective turns to the Exodus | Simcha an Emmy-winning documentary maker, directed, produced and narrated “Exodus Decoded,” based on six years of research and three years of filmmaking (The New York Times)
  3. Unearthing clues to the Exodus | There has been growing scholarly doubt about the story of the Exodus, Simcha Jacobovici said, with some calling it only a fairy tale. But Jacobovici and executive producer James Cameron (“Titanic”) challenge those doubts in the two-hour documentary “The Exodus Decoded” (The Washington Post)
  4. Cameron takes on epic of biblical proportions | He’s better known for making movies in which things explode or crash or sink in a big — read very expensive — way, but James Cameron says it’s no big stretch for him to do a low-cost documentary in which the most blood-curdling scenes involve archaeologists scraping around in the dust with toothbrushes (The Miami Herald)

Back to index

Exhibits:

  1. ‘Crusades’: Storming the castle | It’s not exactly art, and its history is a trifle tendentious, but the “Castles of the Crusades: A View in Miniature” exhibit at the National Geographic Museum at Explorers Hall is a model of medieval romance that any fan of “The Lord of the Rings” — or any fan of Orlando Bloom who braved “Kingdom of Heaven,” for that matter — will adore (The Washington Post)
  2. How Bible found a popular language | “In The Voice of the People,” a display of four Bibles running until year’s end at the Mary Baker Eddy Library in Boston, spotlights the market demand for accessible versions of the Scripture (Rich Barlow, The Boston Globe)

Back to index

Music:

  1. The pilgrim’s progress of Bob Dylan | Against a backdrop of mortality and dark visions, faith is again raised. But it’s no sure thing (The New York Times)
  2. The long and winding road . . . to God? | In The Gospel According to the Beatles, Steve Turner theorizes that the Beatles vs. Jesus incident marked a kind of cultural turning point, when music fans — young people in particular — started to pay attention to what their favorite musicians were saying about their religious or political beliefs as closely as they followed their fashion and hairstyles (Chicago Sun-Times)

Back to index

Travel:

  1. A vow of poverty? Not for visitors to these convents | Some ex-convents are going decidedly upscale (The New York Times)
  2. Highways to heaven | When one thinks about forces on religion, does the spirit of the open road come up for consideration? (Peter Steinfels, The New York Times)

Back to index

Other stories of interest:

  1. Kony applies for asylum | The rebel Lord’s Resistance Army leader, Joseph Kony has formally approached the Central African Republic government pleading for asylum (Daily Monitor, Uganda)
  2. Keeping the faith | World Bank projects are usually free of words like “faith” and “soul.” Most of its missions speak the jargon of development: poverty reduction, aggregate growth and structural adjustments. But a small unit within the bank has been currying favour with religious groups, working to ease their suspicions and use their influence to further the bank’s goals (The Economist)
  3. Canadian church group drops anti-Israel divestment program | Jewish groups are cautiously welcoming a decision by the United Church of Canada to drop an overt program of divestment in Israel in favor of “a pro-peace investment strategy for the Middle East” that aims for “a just peace in Palestine and Israel.” (The Jerusalem Post)
  4. E. coli death is state’s first in 3½ years | As many as 30 people in the Longville area were sickened in the past six weeks. Officials say ground beef at church supper was likely to blame (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
  5. Evangelism in fashion | Forever 21, a popular chain of cheap-chic clothes with stores throughout New York, is literally spreading the Gospel with every sale (The New York Sun)
  6. Religion news in brief | Pope doesn’t want to travel much, Dobson renews support for Mel Gibson, Gay Evangelical Lutheran pastor could be defrocked, and other stories (Associated Press)
  7. When cutting isn’t cruel | Why stop with girls? Why not rescue boys, too? That’s the argument of the anti-circumcision movement (William Saletan, The Washington Post)
  8. Cool Jesus | For more than two decades Cool Jesus has been right by my side. He’s got a big toothy smile, he hates my Church, and he’s always telling me I’ve got it all wrong. But he never tells me what’s right (Rebecca Robinson, GodSpy)

Back to index

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

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Weblog: Launched in 1999, Christianity Today’s Weblog was not just one of the first religion-oriented weblogs, but one of the first published by a media organization. (Hence its rather bland title.) Mostly compiled by then-online editor Ted Olsen, Weblog rounded up religion news and opinion pieces from publications around the world. As Christianity Today’s website grew, it launched other blogs. Olsen took on management responsibilities, and the Weblog feature as such was mothballed. But CT’s efforts to round up important news and opinion from around the web continues, especially on our Gleanings feature.

Pastors

Scum of the Church 2: What churches should learn from ‘80s youth ministry

Leadership Journal August 24, 2006

Many churches are struggling to reach young adults. The conversation on Out of Ur for the last two weeks has wrestled with this problem. Brian McLaren believes we need to be asking different questions of those who’ve grown up in the church and left. Mike Sares, pastor of Scum of the Earth Church in Denver, sees a clash between the values of the Boomers and today’s young adults.

In part two of his post, Sares describes how his church tries to accommodate the styles and values of young adults. He believes the same strategies used in the 1980s to reach teens need to be employed today – rather than putting up cultural barriers we need to be as winsome as possible and connect with the young adult crowd.

At times we at Scum of the Earth Church are criticized for having church on Sunday nights as opposed to Sunday mornings. The fear is that we are turning a blind eye to the things that happen in clubs and bars on Saturday nights, thus enabling lifestyles which may be contrary to the gospel. That is not our intent. We just want to make it as easy as possible for people to come to church. Boomer churches understood this concept when they chose to dress casually for church on Sundays compared to the formal attire of their parents’ churches.

We’ve taken that a step further. Eric Bain, my co-pastor, got some flak from a Christian-college-educated young man when Eric wore an MTV t-shirt while he was preaching and used an illustration taken from “Punk’d,” one of the network’s popular shows. According to the young man, Eric was silently promoting a television network that would be injurious to people’s spirituality.

While Eric acknowledged that everything on MTV may not be beneficial, he was attempting to connect with the crowd. He was being winsome.

The same is true in the style of our services. We are extremely laid-back. People ask me if we scream punk-rock hymns and have a mosh-pit during corporate worship. Others want to know if our style is more Industrial, Techno, Heavy Metal or Hip-Hop. In truth we are more “Emo” than anything else; but we wouldn’t have a problem with any church adopting the styles mentioned because we realize that those can be used in legitimate expressions of faith.

I see it all as ?80s youth ministry grown up. The emerging church movement is as varied as the youth groups of the 1980s. Youth pastors tailored their ministries to the kids God put in front of them. The Presbyterian Church in the suburbs had a totally different tack than the inner-city storefront church. Youth pastors adapted a missionary mindset depending on the “tribe” of kids they were reaching. Those various tribes each had their own music, slang language, dress codes and even moral codes so each youth ministry looked different.

The emergent church is a “flock of singularities,” meaning that it’s like a bunch of different birds that all fly together in some kind of loose formation. The great denominations seem to be on the decline with the next generation partly because there is a mindset that if something can be duplicated everywhere, then there is also something about it that is not genuine. It’s the same thinking that leads the young people I know to distrust Wal-Mart and Starbucks; they prefer the homegrown, local varieties instead. Churches like Solomon’s Porch, Jacob’s Well, Frontline, The Portico, Urban Skye, etc., are as different as the people they reach and nurture.

Still, the great liturgies of the Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian and Orthodox churches are not going to vanish. Who knows, they may even grow with the generations yet to come! The church of Jesus has always adapted in order to love people with the love of God. And that’s the way it is.

This article was edited and modified from, “Young Adults and the Church: The Way Things Are,” in SAMJournal issue 159

Books

The Ties That Bind

Reviewed by Betty Smartt Carter

Anne Tyler’s new novel centers on two very different families brought together when they both adopt Korean girls.

Christianity Today August 22, 2006

I wonder how many people have finished an Anne Tyler novel and thought, “I could write like that,” only to goggle at a blank piece of paper for an hour and then scratch out four or five doomed attempts. Imitating Anne Tyler is like bumbling around the local ice rink after watching Michelle Kwan: sure to make you feel stupid. The genius of Tyler’s art lies in its illusion of artlessness. 

Digging to America By Anne Tyler Knopf 288 pp., $24.95

And to some extent, Tyler’s illusion of artlessness rests in the familiarity of her material. Most of her novels have focused on “ordinary” people: middle-class, secular suburbanites, a slice of America familiar to anybody with a television. But under the familiar surface of Tyler’s writing flows the mingled currents of affection and pain that fill every human life: the universal drama of family love, the struggle to be loyal to one group of people over many years.  Family turmoil is the hinge on which Tyler’s stories swing: her characters strive toward and against one another, sometimes changing emotional direction within a single sentence. This is a private turbulence we all understand, never mind the many things that divide us. Fiction, at least, offers some catharsis.

Digging to America, Tyler’s seventeenth novel, is another chronicle of families in flux. This time, though, she casts her gaze a little wider, bringing together two very different family cultures: the Donaldsons, her usual group of educated, white Baltimoreans, and the Yazdans, a young Iranian American couple who want very much to be all-American, to be “ordinary.” The two families converge at the airport on the day they bring home their adopted Korean daughters, who arrive on the same plane.  Tyler makes us spectators at a scene initially dominated by Donaldson relatives with cameras and baby paraphenalia:

Step around the bend, then, and you’d come upon what looked like a gigantic baby shower. The entire waiting area for the flight from San Francisco was packed with people bearing pink- and blue-wrapped gifts, or hanging onto flotillas of silvery balloons printed with IT’S A GIRL! and trailing spirals of pink ribbon. A man gripped the wicker handle of a wheeled and skirted bassinet… and a woman stood ready with a stroller so chrome-trimmed and bristling with levers that it seemed capable of entering the Indy 500. At least half a dozen people held video cameras… A woman spoke into a tape recorder in an urgent, secretive way… MOM, the button on the woman’s shoulder read—one of those laminated buttons such as you might see in an election year.

Brian and Bitsy Donaldson greet their baby daughter amid flashbulbs and tears; then a voice calls out “Yazd-dun” (“Yaz-dan” another voice corrects) and the crowd parts to let a second adoptive family through:

Three people no one had noticed before approached in single file: a youngish couple, foreign looking, olive-skinned and attractive, followed by an older woman with a chignon of sleek black hair knotted low on the nape of her neck.

The older woman is Sami’s widowed mother, Maryam, whose composed correctness is like an exclamation point on the shyness of her son and daughter-in-law.

The Donaldsons and Yazdans seem so different on the surface: one family group supremely confident, the other uncertain and careful. Such superficial differences are nothing, though, when set against the powerful shared experience of that Arrival Day (an event that will be celebrated by both families for years to come). Soon, Brian and Bitsy invite Ziba and Sami over to their house for “leaf-raking.” This sounds to Maryam like “some idiomatic expression having to do with socializing. Break the ice, mend fences, chew the fat, rake leaves.” But the invitation is literal. The families work side by side in the autumn leaves, and before a long a friendship begins which will grow right along with the children.

Ironically,the closer the two families grow, the more painfully different they feel. Ziba feels drawn to the older, more maternal Bitsy Donaldson, but Sami finds Bitsy irritating. His sense of separateness makes it hard for him to see her eccentricities as personal rather than generally American—her bossiness, for example, or her need to turn everything, even potty-training, into an occasion (Bitsy’s solution to the pacifier problem is classic: sending all the Binkies away on balloons, thereby initiating a metereological disaster). Bitsy herself can’t understand the Yazdans’ need to be “normal” Americans—why, for instance, they change their daughter’s name from the Korean “Sooki” to boring old “Susan” (Bitsy and her husband saddle their own poor child with the name “Jin-Ho Dickinson-Donaldson”).  Still, for all the minor irritations of the friendship, the two families feel more in common with each other than with all the “natural parents” around them.

Can this unlikely friendship bear the weight of something more permanent and emotionally binding—a marriage, for instance? When Bitsy’s widowed father, Dave Dickinson, falls in love with proud, beautiful Maryam Yazdan, both families watch with mixed joy and trepidation. Maryam rebuffs him at first, but the persistent Dave overcomes her reserve and for a little while they enjoy a true and tender romance. Hopes are high, but so are the stakes. Eventually, Maryam will have to decide whether to commit to Dave or move on and grow old alone.  The future of the two families’ friendship seems to depend her decision.

Tyler writes sympathetically from the point of view of several characters, including children (Jin-Ho’s chapter is wonderful, maybe the best in the book). The last third of the novel, though, really belongs to Maryam, a woman unsure of herself after many years in America.  She still finds Americans baffling and frustrating; more than ever, she resents their casual, even cheery plundering of other cultures and traditions (as if everything belonged to them, anyway). She loathes their almost rapacious interest in her foreignness, the way they fuss over her exotic habits—it’s as if they’re really saying, “You’re not of us, you’re not really American.”      

But Maryam isn’t at home with other Iranians, either; she dislikes the coarseness of the young generation. She doesn’t blend well with her daughter-in-law’s family, the buoyant, loud Hakimis, who, for their part, see her as aloof and intimidating. Even Maryan’s son Sami misunderstands her. Because her marriage to his father was arranged and carried out by proxy (before they reunited in America), he assumes it was loveless and unromantic. That shows how little Sami knows about his mother and father; but how could Maryam ever explain herself to him, her son, who has become a foreigner to her?

Maryam’s tragedy is that she loves and needs people but finds the “translation” of herself difficult in a foreign society, even a free and open one where people accept cultural differences. Becoming an American is hard work, not unlike staying married or enduring a lifetime of Christmases with impossible family members.

And should that sound as if it’s spoken from experience, I admit that I read Digging to America with special sympathy. I thought of my own family, now so divided by opposing cultures and beliefs, still loving each other in spite of all, but for how long? Over how many generations? There are so many ways to separate people, all kinds of tools the world uses to carve us into groups that loathe and distrust each other.

How encouraging it is to imagine that two clans of strangers really could meet at an airport one day and form a friendship strong enough to endure small annoyances and even grand disappointments—a friendship based on the families’ love for two children adopted from the other side of the world. Such is the catharsis of fiction, too seldom mirrored in the real world.

Betty Smartt Carter is a novelist living in Alabama.

Copyright © 2006 Books & Culture. Click for reprint information.

Related Elsewhere:

Books & Culture Corner and Books & Culture‘s Book of the Week, from Christianity Today sister publication Books & Culture: A Christian Review (want a free trial issue?), appears regularly on Tuesdays at Christianity Today. Earlier editions include:

Live Like You Are Dying | Finding wisdom in wilderness. (Aug. 15, 2006)

Alchemy in Philadelphia | Revising the history of the “Scientific Revolution.” (Aug. 1, 2006)

Not the Wheel Thing | A history of the Tour de France. (Aug. 1, 2006)

Welcoming Resurrection | A volume of new poems from Luci Shaw. July 18, 2006)

Truth, Justice, and … | Some critics of Superman Returns are more blinkered than Lex Luthor. (July 11, 2006)

Dining Dilemmas | How shall we then eat? (June 27, 2006)

Incorrigibly Bookish | Michael Dirda on reading and life. (June 20, 2006)

The Not-So-Evil Empire | A report on The Historical Society’s conference earlier this month. (June 13, 2006)

Very Important Fiction | The Gospel according to The New York Times Book Review. (May 23, 2006)

Back to the Garden | Digging in the dirt as spiritual formation. (May 16, 2006)

Words Made Flesh | Calvin College’s 2006 Festival of Faith & Writing. (April 25, 2006)

Betrayed Again | The Gospel of Judas Roadshow. (April 18, 2006)

American Theocrat | Richard John Neuhaus, Catholic political ambitions, and the evangelical pawns. (April 11, 2006)

Was George Washington a Christian? | A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. (April 4, 2006)

The Mystery of the Numbers | B&C’s annual baseball preview, 2006 edition. (March 21, 2006)

Passionately Ambivalent | Christians in the art world. (Feb. 14, 2006)

For book lovers, our 2006 CT book awards are available online, along with our book awards for 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, and 1997, as well as our Books of the Twentieth Century. For other coverage or reviews, see our Books archive and the weekly Books & Culture Corner.

The Ties That Bind

Reviewed by Betty Smartt Carter

Anne Tyler’s new novel centers on two very different families brought together when they both adopt Korean girls.

Books & Culture August 21, 2006

I wonder how many people have finished an Anne Tyler novel and thought, “I could write like that,” only to goggle at a blank piece of paper for an hour and then scratch out four or five doomed attempts. Imitating Anne Tyler is like bumbling around the local ice rink after watching Michelle Kwan: sure to make you feel stupid. The genius of Tyler’s art lies in its illusion of artlessness. 

Digging to America

Digging to America

Anne Tyler (Author)

Knopf

288 pages

$4.46

And to some extent, Tyler’s illusion of artlessness rests in the familiarity of her material. Most of her novels have focused on “ordinary” people: middle–class, secular suburbanites, a slice of America familiar to anybody with a television. But under the familiar surface of Tyler’s writing flows the mingled currents of affection and pain that fill every human life: the universal drama of family love, the struggle to be loyal to one group of people over many years.  Family turmoil is the hinge on which Tyler’s stories swing: her characters strive toward and against one another, sometimes changing emotional direction within a single sentence. This is a private turbulence we all understand, never mind the many things that divide us. Fiction, at least, offers some catharsis.

Digging to America, Tyler’s seventeenth novel, is another chronicle of families in flux. This time, though, she casts her gaze a little wider, bringing together two very different family cultures: the Donaldsons, her usual group of educated, white Baltimoreans, and the Yazdans, a young Iranian American couple who want very much to be all–American, to be “ordinary.” The two families converge at the airport on the day they bring home their adopted Korean daughters, who arrive on the same plane.  Tyler makes us spectators at a scene initially dominated by Donaldson relatives with cameras and baby paraphenalia:

Step around the bend, then, and you’d come upon what looked like a gigantic baby shower. The entire waiting area for the flight from San Francisco was packed with people bearing pink– and blue–wrapped gifts, or hanging onto flotillas of silvery balloons printed with IT’S A GIRL! and trailing spirals of pink ribbon. A man gripped the wicker handle of a wheeled and skirted bassinet… and a woman stood ready with a stroller so chrome–trimmed and bristling with levers that it seemed capable of entering the Indy 500. At least half a dozen people held video cameras… A woman spoke into a tape recorder in an urgent, secretive way… MOM, the button on the woman’s shoulder read—one of those laminated buttons such as you might see in an election year.

Brian and Bitsy Donaldson greet their baby daughter amid flashbulbs and tears; then a voice calls out “Yazd–dun” (“Yaz–dan” another voice corrects) and the crowd parts to let a second adoptive family through:

Three people no one had noticed before approached in single file: a youngish couple, foreign looking, olive–skinned and attractive, followed by an older woman with a chignon of sleek black hair knotted low on the nape of her neck.

The older woman is Sami’s widowed mother, Maryam, whose composed correctness is like an exclamation point on the shyness of her son and daughter–in–law.

The Donaldsons and Yazdans seem so different on the surface: one family group supremely confident, the other uncertain and careful. Such superficial differences are nothing, though, when set against the powerful shared experience of that Arrival Day (an event that will be celebrated by both families for years to come). Soon, Brian and Bitsy invite Ziba and Sami over to their house for “leaf–raking.” This sounds to Maryam like “some idiomatic expression having to do with socializing. Break the ice, mend fences, chew the fat, rake leaves.” But the invitation is literal. The families work side by side in the autumn leaves, and before a long a friendship begins which will grow right along with the children.

Ironically,the closer the two families grow, the more painfully different they feel. Ziba feels drawn to the older, more maternal Bitsy Donaldson, but Sami finds Bitsy irritating. His sense of separateness makes it hard for him to see her eccentricities as personal rather than generally American—her bossiness, for example, or her need to turn everything, even potty–training, into an occasion (Bitsy’s solution to the pacifier problem is classic: sending all the Binkies away on balloons, thereby initiating a metereological disaster). Bitsy herself can’t understand the Yazdans’ need to be “normal” Americans—why, for instance, they change their daughter’s name from the Korean “Sooki” to boring old “Susan” (Bitsy and her husband saddle their own poor child with the name “Jin–Ho Dickinson–Donaldson”).  Still, for all the minor irritations of the friendship, the two families feel more in common with each other than with all the “natural parents” around them.

Can this unlikely friendship bear the weight of something more permanent and emotionally binding—a marriage, for instance? When Bitsy’s widowed father, Dave Dickinson, falls in love with proud, beautiful Maryam Yazdan, both families watch with mixed joy and trepidation. Maryam rebuffs him at first, but the persistent Dave overcomes her reserve and for a little while they enjoy a true and tender romance. Hopes are high, but so are the stakes. Eventually, Maryam will have to decide whether to commit to Dave or move on and grow old alone.  The future of the two families’ friendship seems to depend her decision.

Tyler writes sympathetically from the point of view of several characters, including children (Jin–Ho’s chapter is wonderful, maybe the best in the book). The last third of the novel, though, really belongs to Maryam, a woman unsure of herself after many years in America.  She still finds Americans baffling and frustrating; more than ever, she resents their casual, even cheery plundering of other cultures and traditions (as if everything belonged to them, anyway). She loathes their almost rapacious interest in her foreignness, the way they fuss over her exotic habits—it’s as if they’re really saying, “You’re not of us, you’re not really American.”      

But Maryam isn’t at home with other Iranians, either; she dislikes the coarseness of the young generation. She doesn’t blend well with her daughter–in–law’s family, the buoyant, loud Hakimis, who, for their part, see her as aloof and intimidating. Even Maryan’s son Sami misunderstands her. Because her marriage to his father was arranged and carried out by proxy (before they reunited in America), he assumes it was loveless and unromantic. That shows how little Sami knows about his mother and father; but how could Maryam ever explain herself to him, her son, who has become a foreigner to her?

Maryam’s tragedy is that she loves and needs people but finds the “translation” of herself difficult in a foreign society, even a free and open one where people accept cultural differences. Becoming an American is hard work, not unlike staying married or enduring a lifetime of Christmases with impossible family members.

And should that sound as if it’s spoken from experience, I admit that I read Digging to America with special sympathy. I thought of my own family, now so divided by opposing cultures and beliefs, still loving each other in spite of all, but for how long? Over how many generations? There are so many ways to separate people, all kinds of tools the world uses to carve us into groups that loathe and distrust each other.

How encouraging it is to imagine that two clans of strangers really could meet at an airport one day and form a friendship strong enough to endure small annoyances and even grand disappointments—a friendship based on the families’ love for two children adopted from the other side of the world. Such is the catharsis of fiction, too seldom mirrored in the real world.

Betty Smartt Carter is a novelist living in Alabama.

Copyright © 2006 Books & Culture.Click for reprint information.

Pastors

Scum of the Church: How the drive for “excellence” is driving young adults from the church

Leadership Journal August 21, 2006

Recently, Brian McLaren challenged us to ask new questions about the absence of young adults in most churches. Mike Sares, pastor of Scum of the Earth Church in Denver, continues the topic by discussing the divergent values he has encountered between older and younger generations of Christians.

You may recall Sares told the story last year of the poet who dropped the f-bomb during their Christmas Eve service – with his permission. That triggered one of the most vigorous conversations Out of Ur has ever hosted. While likely less controversial, I trust Sares will challenge your thinking once again.

Every generation is quick to point out the hypocrisy of the one that preceded it. The generation born just after WWII began rejecting the values of their parents during the ’60s. Now it’s their kids’ turn.

Today’s young adults see a generation of baby-boomer Christians that has striven for “excellence” in every part of church life. Boomers proclaimed in the 1980s that image is everything, and their churches have reflected that cultural trend. The nurseries have got to be sparkling clean, the church buildings are marvelously functional as opposed to artistic, the music is as close to FM radio quality as possible (even if they must hire a band), the Sunday services are seamless with perfect transitions (just like television), the preaching is entertaining and informative (but not so deep as to offend visitors), and the plants on stage are beautiful (but artificial).

As a result, according to Dieter Zander, the next generation has concluded that “everything is image,” and therefore nothing can be trusted. Church is too slick, too good, too polished to be real. And the twenty-something hunger for raw authenticity just doesn’t fit in.

Reece and Keith were twenty-one and still idealistic enough to think that church should be a place that accepts people just the way they are. But that idealism was challenged when the last church they attended asked them to “Please remove your lip rings and nose rings, and cover up your tattoos so you are not a distraction to the other worshippers.” Thankfully Reese and Keith’s commitment to Christ outweighed the misguided reverence of their older siblings in the Lord. They were able to find another place they could worship, learn, give, encourage, and be held accountable.

But what about the rest? What about the ones who never recover from the stares, whispers, or misapplied Bible verses that condemn the way so many young adults dress and live? What about the ones who never see Christianity as relevant past grade school? What about the thousands of young adults who have never stepped foot into a church, and judge Christianity solely by what they see in the movies, on television, or in other media? How do we welcome them back into our churches?

It’s been my experience that twenty-somethings simply want permission to struggle. Most fear that they are not good enough for God’s family. Each week they are told about the standards they are expected to keep, and each week they are led to believe that the rest of the church is somehow keeping up. This “silence about the struggle” quietly drives young adults away from churches all over the country. One of the highest compliments the pastor of an emerging church can receive is to be told that his/her own difficulty in following Christ has given someone hope that they, too, can fail and still keep following Jesus.

Twenty-somethings also see a generation ahead of them in the church that cannot live well with moral ambiguity. Boomer Christians tend to divide the world into three categories: the holy, the secular, and the downright sinful. For example, there was a debate years ago about whether or not Amy Grant had “sold out” when she left the Christian recording industry and crossed over to the secular market. It wasn’t evil, boomers would say, but neither was it holy.

The new generation of Christians, however, tends to see only two categories: the holy and the sinful. This means things that previously fell into the “secular” category are now open for consumption and experimentation without judgment. Take, for example, tattoos. I am often asked the proper spelling of Greek or Hebrew words for a young adult’s decidedly Christian tattoos; but then, a Chinese dragon or skull and crossbones is just as acceptable. If it is not sinful, they reason, it is holy. Most young musicians I know don’t want a Christian recording contract because that would pigeonhole them. Five Iron Frenzy, a band with a large Christian following that was instrumental in planting Scum of the Earth Church, kept playing nightclubs, bars, and going on tours with non-Christian bands.

Part 2 of “Scum of the Church” will be posted soon.

This article was edited and modified from, “Young Adults and the Church: The Way Things Are,” in SAMJournal issue 159

Pastors

Leader’s Insight: Supporting Leaders When You Disagree

Interview with authors Mike Bonem and Roger Patterson

Successful “second chair leaders” play a challenging part.

Leadership Journal August 21, 2006

Keeping your role as a second chair leader in perspective is important, especially when you may not agree with everything that your leader says or does. Leadership editorial resident Abram Book caught up with West University Baptist Church associate pastors Mike Bonem and Roger Patterson, authors of Leading from Second Chair (Jossey-Bass, 2005) to discuss “managing up.” In the second part of this interview, Bonem and Patterson talk about the challenges of supporting their senior pastor during periods of disagreement, advocating their own ministry while maintaining a “whole church” view, and leading successfully without drawing people away from someone else’s leadership.

How do you support your leader when he does something you don’t agree with?

Patterson: With the words “yes, sir.” (laughter)

Bonem: To me, it starts behind closed doors, with just knowing him and knowing his heart, and knowing that on the core values level we’re really on the same page. It’s also important to me to distinguish between big issues and small ones. If it’s a big deal, then I’m going to talk to him behind closed doors one-on-one and just tell him that we’re moving in a direction that is uncomfortable for me and why.

Patterson: We have a very shared model of leadership. It’s the kind of relationship where we all know we need each other, and so he’s allowed us into that upper level of leadership. We stress that shared leadership model so much just because of the insubordination that is in the hearts of so many leaders in the church. If you look at Jesus, he’s always subordinate to the Father, he only does what he sees the Father calling him to do.

Bonem: I have a sense in my role here on the staff that there is not any issue that I cannot go in and have a frank, one-on-one conversation with my leader. There’s not anything that’s off limits. It’s almost an unspoken set of rules we have.

What are some ways you have been pulled into another person’s disagreements with your senior leader? How do you typically respond?

Patterson: When you have leaders of influence at a first chair and second chair level, that’s going to happen, it’s just a given. One of the things we talk about is just to throw away the second chair’s job description, because it’s always going to change. But if you could write an ideal job description for a second chair, it would be “support the first chair, see deep and wide, and then get to your specific task.” So for us, the answer is that the first chair is the leader that God has put in our midst, I understand your concern, and if you’ll allow me, I’ll take this concern to him, but we’ve got his back. It can breed disloyalty and create a power base that’s very divisive if you let that person’s motives define the situation.

Bonem: I try to carefully listen to what that person is saying, and like Roger said, try to be discerning about it. Ultimately I want to help them to do what I’ve done, which is to look more deeply into my pastor’s heart and see the bigger picture. More often than not, I just leave my first chair a voicemail or speak with him directly and just let him know that this is going on. I’m going to name names when I do that, too. I think one of the worst things a second chair can do is to just go to the senior pastor and tell him that there is this person or group of people who are not happy with your leadership. That doesn’t help the pastor to evaluate where the issue is coming from and how serious it is.

How do you advocate and stand up for your area of responsibility while maintaining a “whole church” view at the same time?

Patterson: I think you have to lead with the whole church view.

Bonem: I have a really deep conviction that if I’m arguing for something that supports my area or one of the ministries that reports to me at the expense of something that would be better for the church overall, that’s a losing proposition. We’ll look at people who have great leadership potential and who could be put to use in several different ministry areas.

Patterson: Successful second chair leaders are thinking about the success of the overall church first. Successful second chair leaders will capture influence across the board because they view the organization as a whole. They are as concerned about children as they are about adult education, even though, for example, adult education is their area. Mike is a perfect example, he sees the church as a whole, and even though he works primarily with adults, he understands that the better we are with children, the more adults will come.

Bonem: Where churches get into trouble is that they have one or two bad apples, one or two people who start to feel really territorial about their area, and then it’s easy for somebody else to do the quid pro quo.

Is it part of your job description to articulate the overall vision of the church, or is that something that you leave primarily to the first chair?

Patterson: We talk about the second chair leader’s role as being that of a vision amplifier. You have to be careful in how you amplify the vision, because if you aren’t careful, you can put too much of your own spin on it and you can distort what you’re trying to amplify.

Bonem: I make the announcements on Sunday morning. I don’t preach or have a platform in terms of standing in front of the whole congregation, so it’s not my job to just stand up and repeat or rephrase in that kind of format, but it’s very much my job in one-on-one interactions with lots of our leaders in small group settings to just live it out in terms of how I show that my priorities are in step with the overall leadership.

Patterson: In our capital campaign to raise funds for renovations on both campuses right after we expanded, we really had to overcome some outcry from folks who thought maybe we were moving too hard and too fast. I remember the opportunity that sat in my lap as a teaching pastor just to help some people be freed up to follow, because they had questions, partly because we’d just acquired the property the previous fall by overwhelming church approval, yet at the same time, when you take 135 people out of your church to launch a new campus, everyone starts feeling the pain of it.

How do you “lead from the second chair” without drawing people away from someone else’s leadership?

Patterson: I share the pulpit with the first chair (senior pastor) every week, because I’m always preaching at one of the two campuses. Over at the new campus, a new family had been attending for several weeks, and so I made it a point to go over and greet them. When I did, the man looked at me and said, “Roger, I really like how you lead services better than your pastor.” I told Ray that I appreciated his affirmation of me, but that it is not about me, and it’s not about our senior pastor. Our desire as church leaders is that he encounters God when he shows up.

Bonem: My gifts and my temperament are so different from Roger and from our senior pastor. I’m not seminary trained, I’m an MBA, very detail oriented and so when I look at the three of us as the senior leadership team, I see my gifts as so different, yet so complementary to them. In my mind, it’s never an issue of competition. However, if I let pride start to creep in and convince myself that the church needs me more than it needs them, all I have to do is look at the pulpit on Sunday morning and say, “Think again, buddy.” (laughter)

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