Church shooting suspect arrested

Atlanta police have a man in custody who is suspected of killing a man at a megachurch. They say he was once committed to a mental health facility in Maryland following criminal charges. Here's a video report from WXIA-TV.

Megachurch Shooting

Police are searching for a man who walked into an Atlanta megachurch this morning and shot and killed another man. It happened at World Changers Church International, a congregation led by controversial televangelist Creflo Dollar. Police say the suspect is a former church employee - 52-year-old Floyd Palmer.

Text and tweet during services

A report on social media use during services at one Arizona church below.

Baptist Pastor: Obama a Muslim, Romney in a Cult

WSAZ-TV reports on a Kentucky Baptist minister who set off a controversy with a sermon about politics. WSAZ NewsChannel 3

Church Sign: "Obama is Muslim, Communist"

A Texas church is stirring controversy over its marquee message. WVUE-TV has this video report on the Leakey, Texas congregation, northwest of San Antonio.

One word overshadows rest of author's book

Read the story of a Christian book controversy here.

"Christian rock is experiencing a resurrection"

Read the LA Times story here.

Politics and Big Data

Both presidential campaigns are targeting Evangelicals through data mining. Read about it here.

Grahams Switch sides on Mormanism

Mormonism has been upgraded from cult status by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. The ministry has removed Mormonism from its list of religious cults. Mormon Mitt Romney paid Billy and Franklin Graham a visit last week in North Carolina. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints consider themselves Christians but Evangelical Christians have typically designated the group a religious cult along with Jehovah’s Witnesses, Scientologists and others. Franklin Graham recently wrote a column titled, Can an Evangelical Christian Vote for a Mormon? Not only did Graham answer affirmatively, his longtime spokesman is now a Romney adviser.

Christian College Prez resigns amidst scandal

The president of King's College is out. Dinesh D’Souza, perhaps best known for his recent film about Barack Obama, resigned from the position after reports surfaced that he was engaged to a woman while still married to his wife.  D'Souza says the couple has been separated for a couple of years. D’Souza put together the documentary 2016: Obama’s America, which has grossed more than $32 million, and says he has done nothing wrong. WORLD magazine, which has close ties to the school, reported a couple of days ago that D’Souza introduced his fiancee at a Christian values event in South Carolina. According to the report in WORLD, organizers confronted D’Souza because they believed the couple shared a hotel room. D’Souza says that is not true and that he filed for divorce before the conference. They have since reportedly called off the engagement. Board chairman Andy Mills will take over as interim president of King's while a predecessor is found. The college was based in the Empire State Building, until this year, when the college relocated to a new location in the Wall Street area of New York City.

Focus on Family Refocuses

An interview with the head of Focus on the Family on a change in direction for the radio ministry here in the Huffington Post.

University Suspension for Signing Petition

Some 15,000 people have signed an online petition calling on Gallaudet Univeristy to bring back Angela McCaskill as its chief diversity officer. She was suspended for signing another petition calling for a vote in Maryland on gay marriage. McCaskill had just heard a sermon at her church on gay marriage when she responded to a call to sign the petition, as many fellow members did. Many groups on both sides of the issue are upset that Gallaudet opposes diversity in opinions. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins Gallaudet even called for the school's president, Alan Hurwitz, to resign. Thousands have "liked" a post on the FRC Facebook page calling on Gally to “Reinstate Dr. McCaskill.” Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley supports same-sex marriage has called for the school to reinstate McCaskill along with a the pro-gay marriage group Marylanders for Marriage Equality. Hurwitz has ignored the outcry and not released any comments since the controversy began. Here's a video report from WJZ-TV on the debate.

Rise in Religiously Unaffiliated Americans

One in five Americans doesn't have any religious affiliation. It's the fastest growing category of Americans, according to a new Pew survey. This group has jumped by a quarter in the last five years. That percentage is even higher when it comes to younger Americans. Some 35 million have no religious affiliation - with more than a third of that group labeling themselves atheist or agnostic. Still, more than two-thirds of the unaffiliated say they do believe in God and more than a third call themselves spiritual and a fifth say they pray each day. More than a third of younger millennials (18-22 year olds) have no ties to any religious group.

Bookstore Drops Book over Controversy

The bookstore chain run by the Southern Baptist church won't stock a book because it includes the word vagina. LifeWay Christian Resources decided against stocking Rachel Held Evans book A Year of Biblical Womanhood: How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting on Her Roof, Covering Her Head, and Calling Her Husband Master. The author says she was advised by her editor to remove the word before it was published. She did - until an outcry from her readers changed her mind when they started an Amazon petition to keep the word in the book. The book comes out at the end of the month.

More Suits against Mandate

A couple of Baptist colleges are suing the Obama administration’s mandate about contraceptives. East Texas Baptist University and Houston Baptist University say the Health and Human services requirement would force the schools to violate their religious beliefs related to providing their employees with access to what they call abortion-causing drugs. Tyndale House Publishers, Hobby Lobby, and other schools have filed suits as well. Lawsuits filed by Wheaton College and the Catholic Belmont Abbey College have been dismissed. The judges in those cases said the legal action was premature because the government hasn't actually said these groups aren't covered by a religious exception yet.

Plan to Firebomb 50 churches thwarted

An Oklahoma man is behind bars for planning to burn down some 50 churches, according to Ottawa County prosecutors. Gregory Weiler attended Bradley University in Illinois but left to join a religious group in Missouri. Authorities say he had already bought materials for putting together Molotov cocktails in his hotel room. Family members say both of his parents committed suicide while he was a young teenager, he had been hospitalized for mental illness and become addicted to heroin and alcohol. He is believed to have been acting alone.

Singing Instead of Praying

KXNW-TV reports on a school where preschoolers are singing Bible verses instead of praying because of new federal laws. Here's the video.

"Touchdown Jesus" gets Replaced

A large statue of Jesus now looms at an Ohio megachurch. The Solid Rock Church in Monroe, Ohio dedicated the new "Lux Mundi" (The Light of the World) statute yesterday. It replaces the sculpture commonly known as "Touchdown Jesus." In 2010, it was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. The new statue has lots of safety features designed to prevent that from happening again. The dedication drew a few protesters who said the statue amounted to idol worship.

'America for Jesus' campaign

CNN offers a video report on the 'America for Jesus' campaign below.

TBN in Israel

TBN sets up shop with a camera on the Mount of Olives. Read about the building Christian TV broadcasters bought in Jerusalem here.