OBAMA PASTOR MISSES SUMMIT

Barak Obama’s longtime pastor was supposed to attend the State of the Black Church Summit hosted by Fort Worth's Brite Divinity School this weekend. Jeremiah Wright bowed out, citing security concerns. But those who took part in the panel discussion without Wright defended the controversial pastor. Dallas preacher Frederick Haynes said, “(Wright) has dared to unwrap the flag from around the cross, and when you do that, you give the cross the power to tell the flag which way to wave." The audience of about 100 applauded throughout the summit. Dwight Hopkins, professor of theology at the University of Chicago Divinity School, warned, “If the black church is censored, other churches will be the next in line."