The Valedictorian and the Constitution

AG Jump in Membership

The Assemblies of God says it gained 4% in membership in the last reported year - the biggest jump since 1983. The denomination claims 3,030,944 members in 2010. Church officials report more than 63 million Assemblies of God followers worldwide in 2009.

VA Lawsuit

The VA is releasing new cemetery guidelines after complaints by local veterans and volunteer groups that there's a ban on religious speech at VA National Cemeteries. The Department of Veterans Affairs says invoking the name of God or Jesus is allowed and common. But a federal civil suit fined by the Liberty Institute against the VA claims the opposite. In one instance, the suit describes how a cemetery director told volunteers they had to stop telling families "God bless you" at funerals and ordered them to remove the words "God bless" from condolence cards. Several members of congress have expressed their concerns over the matter.

Software Attempts to Identify Biblical Writers

A new computer program is being used by software programmers in Israel to look for patterns in the Biblical record. Researchers from Bar Ilan University near Tel Aviv and Hebrew University in Jerusalem say the analysis of style and word choices matched with the traditional academic division of two authors for the Pentateuch. The findings were presented at the Association for Computational Linguistics meeting in Portland.

Billboard Comes Down

A billboard on church property in Ohio proclaiming, "I can be good without God" is down. The sign, paid for by the Freedom From Religion Foundation was placed on land owned by Christ Cathedral Church. The ad agency said the placement was just a mistake.

Bishop Leaving

A bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is leaving to become interim pastor at the largest ELCA congregation in the U.S. Bishop Craig Johnson leads the Minneapolis-area ELCA, but is resigning to become interim pastor of Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in South Minneapolis.

Bachman the Evangelical Feminist?

Is Michele Bachman an Evangelical feminist? CNN offers an article addressing the question. Read the story here.

Pastor Suspended

Amy DeLong has been suspended for 20 days from her church duties for performing a same-sex union. The United Methodist minister was found guilty by a jury made up of other pastors. They voted 9-4 in favor of suspension. DeLong is registered with her same-sex partner under Wisconsin's Domestic Partnership Law.

Camping Ends Radio Ministry

Harold Camping is going off the air. The radio evangelist who predicted the rapture would take place in May, will stop airing his radio program at the end of the month. The 89-year-old suffered a stroke just days afterward, leaving him hospitalized in Oakland, California.

Pawlenty Leading the Evangelical Vote

Evangelical leaders say, if they were voting today, they would pick Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty for the Republican presidential nomination. That's the finding of a poll by the National Association of Evangelicals. 45% say they plan to support Pawlenty. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney came in second with 14%.

Controversy follows Baptist theologian to North Texas

WFAA-TV reports on what's happened to the former head of Jerry Falwell's Liberty Baptist Seminary in Lynchburg, Virginia after his claims of having terrorist ties fell apart.

Megachurch Pulls Away from Exodus

Chicago-land megachurch Willow Creek is no longer associating itself with Exodus International, an ex-homosexual organization which claims to help people stop living a gay lifestyle. Willow Creek Community church is a bell-weather among Evangelical churches with services averaging some 24,000 attendees. Exodus Vice President Randy Thomas recently left and Senior Director of Church Equipping and Student Ministries Jeff Buchanan took over his position.

Methodist Jury: Guilty

A jury of Wisconsin United Methodist pastors has found Amy DeLong guilty of marrying a lesbian couple against church law. The vote was 13-0. However, on a 12-1 vote, she was found not guilty of a charge of being a "self-avowed practicing homosexual." The penalty could be anything from suspension to defrocking.

Worldwide Survey of Evangelicals

A new survey finds differing opinions as to whether Evangelicals are gaining influence in society. Most pastors in the "Global North" (Europe, North America, Japan, Australia and New Zealand) say Evangelicals are losing influence while most pastors in the "Global South" (sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East/North Africa, Latin America and most of Asia) say the opposite, according to the Pew Research Center. American Evangelical leaders are among the pessimistic. A whopping 82% say evangelicals are losing influence. Leaders in the Global South are generally more conservative than those in the Global North.

Pastor Pleads Not Guilty

Amy DeLong has pleaded not guilty in a United Methodist church trial to being a "self-avowed practicing homosexual." The Wisconsin pastor faces charges she violated church rules by officiating at the marriage ceremony of a lesbian couple. A jury of 13 Wisconsin pastors will hear her the trial. DeLong has said she is in lesbian relationship, but that doesn't prove she has been "practicing" homosexual acts with her partner, according to her representative during the proceedings.

Van Impe Off TBN

TBN is no longer airing Jack Van Impe's show after the televangelist wanted to air a program naming other prominent preachers as teachers of a corrupt gospel. The TV network has a specific policy against criticizing other ministries on its air waves and refused to air a program where Van Impe specifically went after Robert Schuller who leads the now bankrupt Crystal Cathedral and Rick Warren who wrote The Purpose Driven Life. The program was part of a series about "Chrislam" in which he says the two leaders are combining Christianity and Islam. Van Impe withdrew his program from TBN, saying, "I will not allow anyone to tell me what I can and cannot preach."

Doughnuts for Protesters

A Seattle pastor bought food for the Westboro Baptist Church members this weekend. Word got out the serial protesters were coming to Mark Driscoll's Mars Hill Church. He wrote a post on his blog welcoming Westboro "to our whore house for God's Grace and free donuts." Read it here.

Under God Deleted

NBC is apologizing for editing out "under God" out of clip of children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance that ran during the US Open. The network says it was a mistake.

Baptists on the Doctrine of Hell

Southern Baptists adopted a resolution titled Reality of Hell during the denomination's annual gathering in Phoenix. The move was direct rejection of Rob Bell's book Love Wins, which suggests hell is not forever. The messengers voted to “hereby affirm our belief in the biblical teaching on eternal conscious punishment of the unregenerate in Hell.” Some Southern Baptist leaders have accused Bell of being a universalist, a charge he denies.

Historic Baptist Election

Southern Baptists picked a black pastor to take the second top spot in the denomination today at their annual conference in Phoenix. Fred Luter will serve as first vice president, the first time a black man has held the post. He pastors a church in New Orleans, where next year's convention will be held.