Abortion Signs at Clinics

The North Dokota Senate has voted to require signs be posted at clinics that offer abortion services. KXMB-TV has the story.

Assemblies of God Leader Resigns

The Assemblies of God general secretary has resigned. John Palmer has admitted to having committed “ethical misconduct”. The denomination’s News and Information Service says there was a "one-time incident" that involved “inappropriate interaction with a woman that did not involve any physical intimacy.” James Bradford, pastor of Springfield, Missouri's Central Assembly of God will take over as the new general secretary.

Offensive Show Mocks Jesus & Mary

The host of a well-known Israeli TV show is apologizing for its attack on Christianity. The late-night comedy talk show is called Shlein and hosted by comedian Lior Shlein. It airs on one of Israel's three main TV stations, The Israeli foreign ministry says the offensive clip won’t be shown again. Among other things, viewers were told that Mary become pregnant at 15, thanks to a schoolmate and that Jesus was too fat to walk on water.

Suicide at Crystal Cathedral

A Southern California man shot and killed himself in front of a cross inside of the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove yesterday. It’s unclear why he decided to commit suicide at Robert Schuller’s church. Police say he handed a note and his driver’s license to two ushers before shooting himself in the head at the cross. Church officials say he was not a member.

Baptists May Kick Out Texas Church

The Southern Baptist Convention is trying to decide whether to allow a Texas church to remain a part of the denomination. The SBC’s Executive Committee is asking Fort Worth’s Broadway Baptist Church to explain what it teaches about homosexuality. There is a controversy inside the church over whether to allow same-sex couples to be photographed together in a church directory. Rather than create separate family portraits, the church avoid the issue by shooting candid shots of parishioners. The Committee will meet in June to make a decision on whether Broadway is out or in.

Megachurch Pastor Resigns

The downtown branch of Willow Creek Community Church is losing its pastor. Steve Wu says he’s resigning because of "sexual impurity." Wu has lead Willow Creek Chicago since 2006. The congregation meets at Auditorium Theatre. Bill Hybels leads the main campus of the megachurch in South Barrington. Willow Creek has more than 20,000 members meeting in six locations. The church says Wu “has expressed a desire to participate in a restoration process” having brought the issue to the attention of church leaders himself. Todd Katter will serve as interim campus pastor while the church looks for a replacement.

North Dakota Abortion Bill Passes

KXMB-TV in Bismarck, North Dakota reports on an abortion bill making its way through the legislature.

Christian Group Donates Headquarters

Gospel Communications International donates its headquarters in Muskegon, Michigan to house several charity organizations.

Biologists Skip Louisiana

A group of biologists have decided not to hold their annual convention in New Orleans because of Louisiana law about teaching evolution in public schools. The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology say they’ll meet in Salt Lake City for their 2011 convention. They say Louisiana law weakens science education and specifically attacks evolution in science curricula. Nearly 2000 biologists attend the convention. Last year, the state decided to let local school boards decide what materials science teachers can use to go along with the evolution materials.

Movieguide Awards

Here are some of the awards handed out at the 17th Annual Movieguide awards gala this past week. The faith-based film awards ceremony is sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation.

The Most Inspiring TV Program of 2008: The Christmas Choir telecast by The Hallmark Channel (This winner took home the $100,000 Epiphany Prize)

The Most Inspiring Performance in Movies or TV in 2008: Adriana Barraza for Henry Poole Is Here

Best Movie for Families: WALL-E from Pixar and Walt Disney Pictures

The Faith and Freedom Award for Promoting Positive American Values in 2007
Winner for Movies: Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed from Rocky Mountain Pictures
Winner for TV: (Tie) HBO’s John Adams and The Medal: Celebrating Our Nation’s Highest Honor from 45 North Communications

Sex Ed and Porn Sunday

A church sign in Little Rock says, "Sex Ed and Porn Sundays". KLRT-TV has more on the controversial ad.

The Amazing Race

This season's edition of The Amazing Race started this evening with a connection to the Evangelical community. The CBS show tapped 68-year-old Mel White to take part. He’s a one-time speechwriter for Pat Robertson and Billy Graham who has now turned to gay-rights activism. He’s teamed with his son, Mike White who wrote the screen play for School of Rock and Nacho Libre. The show will feature 11 teams. Over the 12 episodes, they will travel more than 40,000 miles in 22 days to nine countries, including Switzerland, India and Russia.

Mel and Mike are in fourth place after the first episode.

State Lawmakers Vote on Removing Prayer

20 state legislators in Oklahoma voted to remove a prayer from the official record. It was given in the House of Representatives by Scott Jones, pastor of Oklahoma City’s Cathedral of Hope. The church is the largest predominantly gay congregation in Oklahoma City and Jones himself gay. The congregation is associated with the United Church of Christ. Denominational leaders say they are “outraged’ at the “discriminatory treatment”. When it came to a vote, 64 representatives voted to include the prayer, 20 opposed including it and 17 abstained.

Financial Transparency from Churches

A story from Associated Press on donors looking for Christian nonprofit groups and churches to be more forthcoming about their financies.

Free Speech Restrictions on Campus

Yuba Community College threatened a student with arrest and expulsion for handing out tracts on campus, preaching and carrying a sign with a Christian message on it without a permit. Loma Rica res dent Ryan Dozier filed a lawsuit against the Marysville, California school and has now dropped his lawsuit because school administrators decided to cave in. They'll pay his $25,000 in attorneys fees and change its "free speech" policy. Students will no longer be required to obtain a permit or be restricted to free speech periods lasting only two-hours twice a week.

Wireless Mics

Churches using wireless microphones operating on the frequencies between 698 MHz and 806 MHz will have to stop. The space will now become home to public safety and commercial users on Tuesday. Congregations that don’t vacate could face stiff FCC fines.