Megachurch could leave PCUSA

The First Presbyterian Church in Colorado Springs will vote Sunday on whether to part ways with the the Presbyterian Church, USA. The 4000 member congregation may bolt for the more conservative Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians. The main source of contention is the definition of marriage. Regional bodies of the denomination allow the ordination of gay clergy who are part of committed relationships. Church leaders are considering a proposal to allow ministers to officiate at same-sex weddings.

Swapping mega-churches for tiny ones

The Washington Post takes a a trend toward smaller congregations here.

Christian College Prof Arrested

A Christian education professor at Wheaton College was arrested today. Donald Ratcliff is facing charges of possessing child pornography photos and videos. The one-time pastor has been a faculty member for about five years. The Chicago-area school has put Ratcliff on administrative leave. He's due in court in the morning.

Bible Study Group Robbed at Gunpoint

Suspects nabbed after standoff. Read the details here.

Tebow and Lin

ABC News reports that Tim Tebow and Jeremy Lin have formed a friendship. Here's a video report on the two rising sports stars.

Tebow and Swift?

Country western singer Taylor Swift and Tim Tebow were spotted at dinner in Los Angeles Monday with two other guests, fueling speculation the two are dating. One report says the two people with them were their agents. The Denver Broncos qarterback has publicly said he is saving himself for the right girl and for marriage. On the other hand, Swift has been in some high profile relationships which have become to the subjects of her albums. Swift had a Christian rock band open for her on her last tour. Here's one Internet report about the couple.

Jeremy Lin and Active Faith

Fox News interviews one of the founders of Active Faith talks about the compan's relationship to Jeremy Lin.

Zombie Muhammad Controversy

A judge called a Pennsylvania man a "doofus" for offending Islam - even though he was the victim in the case before the judge. Mark Martin, who is a Muslim himself, dismissed harassment charges against Muslim defendant Talaag Elbayomy for choking Ernest Perce during a Halloween parade in Mechanicsburg where Perce wore a “zombie Muhammad” costume. Elbayomy ran out from the crowd, grabbed a sign around the neck of Perce and pulled it until the strings choked Perce, who is the state director of American Atheists’ Pennsylvania. Instead of defending Perce First Amendment rights, as the arresting officer stated to a local TV station, Martin lectured him, saying, “I think our forefathers intended to use the First Amendment so we can speak with our mind, not to p— off other people and cultures – which is what you did.” Martin went on to warn Perce that he could be put to death in some Arab countries. Perce faces a possible arrest  himself for posting audio of the judge's comments, which you can hear below. The first video is a report on what happened from WHTM-TV.

Marco Rubio's Faith

The church history of a potential Republican vice presidential candidate is raising eyebrows among Evangelicals. Florida Senator was a Mormon until his family converted to Catholicism when he was 12 years old. Rubio was baptized as a Mormon as a child, but married in a Catholic church. In recent years, Rubio has regularly attended Christ Fellowship, a Southern Baptist church in Miami while attending Mass in Washington, DC when the Senate is in session. He has referred to himself as both a Baptist and a Roman Catholic.  Rubio's memoir may attempt to clear the air on his church affiliation - it's due out this fall.

On this Date.. Feb 25

On this date in 2004, Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ premiered.

Tebow signs with WME

Tim Tebow has signed up with the William Morris Endeavor agency based in New York. Tebow decided to let the large talent agency handle his endorsements, books, personal appearances, and any television or movie roles after deciding it was too much for his brother and a close friend. Tebow turned down offers to host Saturday Night Live and appear on late-night talk shows.

Linspired

A book about New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin is due out in April. Titled Linspired, the bio is written by Mike Yorkey, and there will be two versions - one for adults and one for youth. The publisher, Zondervan, already has a youth-version biography of Tim Tebow. Lin says this about the coming book:

"I'm not exactly sure how it is all going to turn out, but I know for a fact that God has called me to be here now in the NBA. And this is the assignment that He has given me. I know I wouldn't be here if that wasn't the case. Just looking back, though, it's been a huge miracle. I can see His fingerprints everywhere."

Posthumous Mormon Baptism

The Mormon church is being accused of posthumously baptized Holocaust victim Anne Frank. Just a week ago the church apologized for doing the same thing to the parents of Holocaust survivor and Jewish rights advocate Simon Wiesenthal. Mormons believe the baptism ritual allows deceased people a way to the afterlife. Here's a riff by comedian Stephen Colbert about the topic from last night.

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Campus to be Given Away to Christian School

An Oklahoma family worth billions is giving away an entire college campus. There are 15 schools in the running to take over what was supposed to be a new college named after CS Lewis. The institution never materialized because the CS Lewis Foundation in California has had trouble raising the money to get the school off the ground. Now the family that owns the Massachusetts property and made its fortune through the Hobby Lobby craft store chain, has 43 buildings on more than 200 acres ready for use, but no school. They put $5 million into making improvements to the campus and say they want to see it used by a Christian school - provided the new administrators can show an orthodox Christian vision and that there is enough money to keep it going. The facilities are sometimes referred to as the "Moody Campus" because evangelist DL Moody preached once there. Among the schools in the running: Liberty, Azusa Pacific, and Indiana Wesleyan.

Bob Green Dies

The ex-husband of Anita Bryant has died. Read the story here.

Christian Singer on "The Voice"

The son of megachurch pastor Tony Evans appeared on NBC's The Voice Monday night. Anthony Evans was accompanied to the audition with Kirk Franklin and his father, who watched backstage. Evans sang Marvin Gaye's What's Going On? and Christina Aguilera picked him to work with. The celebrities on the show get to select a dozen singers each. Evans says, "The struggle I have as a Christian artist is people would say 'who is he? He needs to define himself as a gospel act or a contemporary Christian act. I wanted to define myself as Anthony Evans which is straight up the middle. 'The Voice' asked me to be myself and so that's the whole reason why I'm here." Here's the video of his audition.

Dove Nominees

Nominees for the Gospel Music Association Dove Awards are out. Winners will be announced in Atlanta on April 19. Here are some of the nominees:

Male Vocalist of the Year
Chris August
Chris Tomlin
Jason Crabb
Kirk Franklin
Steven Curtis Chapman

Female Vocalist of the Year
Francesca Battistelli
Kari Jobe
Laura Story
Mandisa
Natalie Grant


Group of the Year
Casting Crowns
David Crowder*Band
Gaither Vocal Band
NEEDTOBREATHE
The Isaacs

For more click here.

Megachurch Wins Suit

Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston has won a copyright lawsuit. Read the details here.

Santorum's Satan Comments

Republican Presidential candidate Rick Santorum is being criticized for comments he made about Satan and America - four years ago. He told an audience at Florida's Ave Maria University,

"Satan is attacking the great institutions of America, using those great vices of pride, vanity, and sensuality as the root to attack all of the strong plants that has so deeply rooted in the American tradition... This is a spiritual war. And the Father of Lies has his sights on what you would think the Father of Lies would have his sights on: a good, decent, powerful, influential country - the United States of America. If you were Satan, who would you attack in this day and age?"

Matt Drudge highlighted the comments on his website today for several hours after RightWingWatch posted a video on YouTube that featured the audio from the Santorum speech. It comes just days after Santorum used the phrase “phony theology” in relation to Barack Obama. Santorum later said "theology" was a just a slip and he meant to refer to Obama’s “radical” environmental views.

Below you can hear the audio of his comments at Ave Maria.

Graham Accused of Double Standard

Franklin Graham appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe and discussed the faith of President Obama, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum. The interview is below.

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