Friday, May 18, 2012

Tebow looks to stop Jesus T-shirt maker

Tim Tebow has told a t-shirt manufacturer to stop using his name in promotion of a t-shirt. CubbyTees.com is selling the shirt that says My Jesus on the front in the style of the Jets logo. A fish is used instead of a football. Among other things, the ad says the New York Jets quarterback is “not just looking to cure lepers, but heal Gang Green! This shirt should fit Tebow followers to a tee.”

Baptist State Convention Found Liable

A jury says the Florida Baptist Convention is liable for what a former pastor did. Douglas Myers plead guilty to sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy in Eustis at the Triangle Community Church where he served as pastor. The jury decided the state convention didn't properly investigate Douglas before giving him grant funds. He was accused of sexual abuse at churches in Maryland and Alabama before moving to Florida. Douglas is now serving a 7 year sentence for the crime. The church and another he started have been shut down.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Satanic Symbols Put on Churches

A homeless California man is accused of putting Satanic graffiti on two downtown churches - Church of the Incarnation and St. Luke Evangelical Lutheran Church. Kyle Eric Schaller is now in the Sonoma County Jail on charges of felony vandalism. Damages are estimated at more than $4000.

Singer-Pastor Carjacked

A group of men carjacked Gospel singer and megachurch pastor Marvin Winans at a gas station in Detroit. The mid-afternoon attack left Winans without money or his SUV and with minor injuries. Winans was in the news earlier this year when he gave singer Whitney Houston’s eulogy. The city is facing increasing problems with crime. Just a few days ago a former police chief was robbed and assaulted as he mowed his lawn. Here's a WXYZ-TV interview with Winans.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Fest calls it Quits

One of the biggest Christian Rock festivals is shutting down. The Cornerstone Festival has taken place every summer since 1984 in Illinois. The organization behind the gathering says this upcoming one set for early July will be the last, due to financial concerns. For more information click here.

One Survivor from Plane Crash

Here's an interview on NBC's Today show with Ron Luce, president of Teen Mania Ministries and father of the sole survivor of a small plane crash in Kansas that took the lives of everyone else on board. All five people on the plane had connections to Oral Roberts University.


Faculty Quit College

More than 60 faculty members at Georgia's Shorter University are leaving over new contracts that include a lifestyle pledge reading, "I reject as acceptable all sexual activity not in agreement with the Bible, including, but not limited to, premarital sex, adultery, and homosexuality." There are also specific mentions of drug use, public drinking near the campus and regular church attendance. An anonymous survey showed nine out of ten faculty members planned to quit over the issue. Shorter is associated with the Southern Baptist convention.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Jennifer Knapp

The Houston Chronicle profiles "Jennifer Knapp, an unlikely gay Christian icon" here.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Churches Split Over Gay Marriage

The New York Times takes a look at how different church are handling the issue of gay marriage here.

Pastor wants $500k for Church review

A pastor is suing a woman and her daughter for giving his church a poor online review. Charles O'Neal leads the Beaverton Grace Bible Church in Beaverton, Oregon and he says Julie Anne Smith's unfavorable review amounts to defamation because she used words like cult, control tactics, and spiritual abuse. Several other writers are named in the half of a million dollar lawsuit as well. Smith used to attend the church, but says she was shunned by the congregation after leaving.