mecca for Christian film industry

Jennifer Hudson and Oprah Winfrey will take part in T.D. Jakes’ MegaFest. The three days of conferences and concerts in downtown Dallas will bring 100,000 people to the area. Unlike previous MegaFests in other cities, this one will introduce the International Faith & Family Film Festival, an event organizers hope to spin off from MegaFest into its own annual Dallas tradition. Read more about the impact on the area and the Christian Film industry from DFW.com here.

Ted Haggard to Appear on 'Oprah: Where Are They Now?' Episode

Ted Haggard

Former megachurch pastor Ted Haggard will appear on the "Oprah Winfrey Show" during a "Where Are They Now?" episode this weekend to discuss his life after falling from grace when he made national headlines for a sex scandal involving a male prostitute in 2006. Read more at the Christian Post here.

Video of vocal teacher at Christian school goes viral

An adjunct voice teacher at a Christian University got to sing with Kristen Chenoweth at the Hollywood Bowl. Sarah Horn was randomly plucked out the audience to join in singing a song from the musical Wicked. The video has gone viral, racking up several million views. Horn has told several media outlets, “On the walk to our car, my father reminded me that he had prayed 11 years ago that I would one day sing with Kristin Chenoweth..”

Billy Graham's Throat-slashing comment to Nixon

A recently released audio tape by the Nixon Presidential Library shows a comment from Billy Graham in 1973 to then President Richard Nixon that has gotten a reaction from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. The exchange concerned the CBS television network coverage of Nixon’s first speech about Watergate.

Nixon: “What did CBS do? Did they knock it?”
Graham: “I felt like slashing their throats, but anyway God be with you.”

You can hear the exert on the audio file below. The tape was part of 340 hours of conversations released and posted online by the National Archives and Records. Graham's organization says:

Mr. Graham has always been the first to admit that he is a sinner saved by grace. In response to some of the things he said during the Watergate era, he admitted, “I sometimes put my foot in my mouth. I’ve made many statements I wish I could recall. I am an erring, fallible disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ, and am subject to all the temptations, human frailties and errors of other disciples of the Lord.”

Even in death, a popular pastor makes Chinense authorities nervous

On August 16th some 30,000 people attended a memorial service for a popular Christian pastor in Guangzhou, his home city. That does not count the many police. Officially, China has 23m Christians. The real number is somewhere between 60m and 130m. Read more in The Economist.

Public Prayer Heads to the Supreme Court

The public prayers of a small town in New York are now the focus of a U.S. Supreme Court case that may redefine the legal limits on religious expression at official functions across the country. Read more in Business Week.

Christians Paying a Heavy Price in Egypt

Egypt’s large Christian community has suffered some of the severest blows following a bloody crackdown by the military-backed government against followers of the Muslim Brotherhood last week. Scores of Christian churches, schools and private homes were attacked across the country. Many were burned, and Christian groups reported that at least six people were killed. Read more at the Washington Post here. Meanwhile, Fox News Juan Williams says the Muslim Brotherhood is preying on Christians because 'they can't touch the United States.' Watch more in the video here.

Atheist wears pasta strainer on head for photo

A Texas college student is the first in the country to be allowed to put a pasta strainer on his head for his driver's license. Eddie Castillo says he is part of a group of atheists who "worship" the Flying Spaghetti Monster. The idea started eight years ago in a letter protesting the teaching intelligent design. Here's a video report from Everything Lubbock.

Outbreak at Megachurch

There's a measles outbreak among members of a Texas megachurch. Eagle Mountain International Church led by Terri Copeland Pearsons, the daughter of televangelist Kenneth Copeland. She encouraged members to get vaccinated because of an outbreak in the church's daycare--even though her father has promoted the idea that vaccines can lead to autism, a view debunked by medical science. Here's a video report from WFAA-TV about how the church is connected to the outbreak.

The Pope is calling

Pope Francis is taking the time to call people who've written him notes or gone through some difficulty. The unexpected papal calls usually begin with him saying, "It's the pope." Among his calls:

from Wikipedia Commons

• Alerting a newspaper stand in Buenos Aires he would not need daily delivery anymore
• Telling his shoemaker to continue making black shoes, that he would not be switching to papal red leather loafers
• A Italian man whose brother was killed
• A woman to thank her for a book she sent
• A 19-year-old student who write to Francis, was told to refer to him with the informal "tu" because even "Jesus and the apostles used the `tu'

The Italian daily newspaper Corriere suggests, if you get a call from the Pope:

• Ask Francis (a soccer enthusiast) about the recent game between Italy and Argentina
• Ask how Benedict XVI is doing
• Don't bring up Vatican policy or scandal
• Don't ask for any favors
• Don't use exaggerated titles like "magnificent"

Getting to Know.. James Dobson

• MINISTRY - Founder of Focus on the Family, his show ended in February 2010, now with a new radio program no affiliated with Focus called Family Talk 
• AGE - 77 years old 
• HEALTH - heart attack in 1990 
• DEGREE - Ph.D. in child development 
• TEACHING - former professor at the University of Southern California School of Medicine 
• WIFE - married more than 40 years to Shirley Dobson who chairs the National Day of Prayer 
• FATHER - ordained Nazarene minister. So was Dobson’s grandfather and great-grandfather 
• BOOKS - has written more than 25 books starting with Dare to Discipline in 1970

School: God is Dead poster stays

Parents of students at Covington, Georgia high school are trying to get the school to take down a display they say is offensive. The poster that's caused the outrage has a quote from Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible which reads God is Dead. Alcovy High School administrators are defending the project, saying it is designed to educate students about Salem Witch trials and the hunt for Communists during the McCarthy era. Here's a video report from Atlanta's Fox affiliate.

Churches changing bylaws after gay marriage ruling

Worried they could be sued by gay couples, some churches are changing their bylaws to reflect their view that the Bible allows only marriage between one man and one woman. Read the Associated Press story here.

Churches destroyed in Egypt

Egyptian mobs have attacked more than two dozen Christian churches and church-related facilities, including schools and cultural centers, according to CNN. The Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group once led by more recently deposed President Mohamed Morsy, is blamed for the violence. Read more here.

Getting to Know.. Rick Warren

Rick Warren

• Born: 1954, San Jose, California
• Childhood: Raised a Southern Baptist in Redwood Valley, CA
• Residence: Trabuco Canyon, California.
• Family: 4th generation pastor, married, 3 adult children
• Dress: wears Hawaiian shirts and sandals when he preaches
• Education: Bachelor of Arts from California Baptist College in Riverside; Master of Divinity from Southwestern Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas; Doctor of Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California
• Church: Pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California; More than 23,000 people attend Saddleback regularly and the church has baptized more than 14,000 people in the past decade; it has more than 20 services that feature different styles of live music from heavy metal to reggae
• Books: The Purpose Driven Church (1995) has sold a half million copies and The Purpose Driven Life (2002) has more than 30 million in English-language sales
• Profits: Gave 90% of his profits from The Purpose Driven Life to his church
• Warren has given "purpose-driven training" to more than half-a-million pastors. One out of 20 US churches have taken the 40 Days of Purpose exercises.
• Favorite Bible verse: Acts 13:36, "He served God’s purpose for his generation. And then he died."

First woman as presiding bishop for Lutherans

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has northeast Ohio Bishop Elizabeth Eaton as it's first women to lead the denomination. Eaton won, 600-287, on the fifth ballot over Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson. He has held the position for a dozen years.The ELCA was formed a quarter of a century ago when three Lutheran groups merged. About a quarter of the clergy in the ELCA are now women. The smaller and more conservative Lutheran Church Missouri Synod remained independent and does not ordain women. Eaton takes office November first.  Read more here.

Getting to Know.. What is an Evangelical?

When conducting surveys The Barna Group defines an Evangelical as those who:
• Say they are "born again" Christians*
• Say their faith is very important in their lives today
• Believe they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians • Believe that Satan exists
• Believe that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works
• Believe that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on Earth
• Describe God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today

* Barna says: A "born again" Christian is one who has "made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in your life today" and who believes that "when I die, I will go to heaven because I have confessed my sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as my savior."

Getting to Know.. Church-State Legal Decisions

Some major church-state US Supreme Court decisions:

• 1947: Everson v. Board of Education A state may not pass laws "which aid one religion" or "prefer one religion over another."

• 1948: McCollum vs. Board of Education Rules against religious instruction in public schools

• 1971: Lemon v. Kurtzman A test for determining violations of the First Amendment prohibition of any law establishing religion.

• 1980: Stone v. Graham Struck down a Kentucky law requiring 10 Commandments displays in public classrooms

• 1983: Marsh v. Chambers Legislative prayer ruled constitutional

• 1984: Lynch v. Donnelly Allowed a nativity scene to be included in a city's multifaceted holiday display

• 1989: County of Allegheny v. ACLU Prohibited the display of a nativity scene at a county courthouse

• 1992: Lee v. Weisman Invocations and benedictions at public school graduation ceremonies declared unconstitutional

• 2002: Zelman v. Simmons-Harris Religiously affiliated schools may participate in taxpayer-funded tuition voucher programs

• 2004: Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow The court ruled that Newdow had no standing to bring the lawsuit asking whether the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance recited at public schools violated church-state separation

The brother of Benny Hinn returns to ministry-was it too soon?

Sam Hinn was re-ordained Sunday by a group of ministers seven months after he left his Florida church following his admission to a four-year affair, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Read the full story here.

Texas Pastor changes mind on proposed policy

Pastor John Hagee

Megachurch pastor John Hagee has dropped his opposition to a local ordnance that "seeks to protect the rights of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people in San Antonio." here.
Read the story in the San Antonio Express