Mercy Me Fatal Accident

MercyMe was involved in the fatal crash in Fort Wayne, Indiana early today when a car turned into the path of the group's tour bus as the bus was going through a green light. No one on MercyMe's bus was injured. But two people in the car were killed. The driver was an 18-year-old pregnant woman who is now in critical condition and has lost her child. The contemporary Christian music group, best known for the song I Can Only Imagine, cancelled its sold-out concert set for this evening at Six Flags St Louis. It has been rescheduled for September 5th.

Catholics by State

The results of a Gallup Poll show the distribution of Catholics across the states is heavily skewed toward the New England and Mid-Atlantic states.

The state with highest percentage Catholic is Rhode Island at 53%, followed by Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York. Two Midwestern states, Wisconsin and Illinois, are also in the top 10 states in terms of the percentage Catholic.

The 10 states with the lowest percentages of Catholics are all in or close to the South, with the exception of Utah (with its high concentration of Mormons). Mississippi, with a 6% Catholic population, has the lowest proportion of Catholics of any state.

Racist Graffiti on Church

WPTY-TV in Memphis has a video report on what police are calling a hate crime.

Religion by State

Here's a graphic showing Gallup poll results of non-Catholic Christians -by state. They are heavily concentrated in the South and nearby states, while constituting only a minority of residents of Northeastern states, and of many Middle Atlantic and Western states.

Mississippi and Alabama are at the top with 81% and 80% Protestant/other Non-Catholic Christian.

The state with the lowest proportion of non-Catholic Christians is Utah. Other states that are low in terms of non-Catholic Christian representation are those with high percentages of Catholics, including Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey.

Water Park Brawls

Fights broke out at a water park in Tulsa during a Christian event last night. The Waves of Worship event drew some 3500 youth was sponsored by Christian radio station KXOJ. Here's a video report from KOTV.

Ruby Tuesday Lawsuit

A Daytona Beach black pastor is suing Ruby Tuesday for discrimination. Loverso Walker wants $7 million from the restaurant chain. Walker and more than 50 church members from the Faith Temple Church of God in Christ were refused service two years ago, according to the lawsuit. Mediation between the parties has not resolved the matter. Here's more on the story from WPBF-TV.

Sexual Orientation

When sexual orientation conflicts with religious faith, counselors are being told not to offer "reparative therapy" which seeks to change sexual orientation. A new report says there’s no evidence to suggest such a change is possible. The American Psychological Association’s governing council has voted 125-4 to accept the study and go on record against telling gay clients they can become straight through therapy or other treatments. The group suggestions that mental health professionals should offer options ranging from celibacy to switching churches.

Psychologist Mark Yarhouse, who teaches at Regent University, will present a study that offers the opposite conclusion at Friday’s APA meeting. He studied people who went through programs with Exodus International. Yarhouse says most of the people switched to heterosexuality or pulled away from homosexuality.

Exodus is one of the largest organizations promoting change of sexual orientation. President Alan Chambers says parts of the APA report are encouraging. Chambers says, "It's a positive step.. simply respecting someone's faith is a huge leap in the right direction.”

Bono at Megachurch

U2 lead singer Bono will be among those who participate in a leadership conference at a Chicago megachurch. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is also on the bill for Willow Creek Community Church's annual Leadership Summit. It takes place tomorrow and Friday. Although many of the speakers will appear in person, Bono and Blair will reach the audience by satellite. Some 60,000 business and church leaders will crowd onto the church campus and tens of thousands of others will watch at other locations.

Survey on WW II Atomic Bombs

Do you think the US did the right thing or the wrong thing by dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Here are the percentages of those responding to this poll who say it was the right thing.

All Americans – 61%
White Protestants, Catholics and evangelical Christians – 70%
Jews – 58%

Source: Quinnipiac University poll

Baptist Leadership

Southern Baptists may get rid of their North American Mission Board president. Geoff Hammond has been at the helm of the denomination's evangelism arm for 2 years. But some members of the executive committee aren’t happy with his leadership. There will be a discussion of whether to remove him when the committee meets again next Tuesday.

Baker Book House

Here's a look at one of the significant but small evangelical publishers - Baker Book House.

Complaints about Church Feeding Homeless

Neighbors are complaining about a central Phoenix church feeding the homeless. KTVK-TV reports.

Elvis and Cash at Sun

A new release from Sun Records contains 31 gospel recordings from Sun's vaults- including tunes from Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Charlie Rich. The CD retrospective from the Memphis studio is called Sun Gospel and starts with Presley’s informal Just a Little Talk With Jesus. It is being released by Germany's Bear Family records.

Statue Moved

A one ton statue of Jesus is being moved in Providence, Rhode Island. WPRI-TV reports.

Prosperity Preacher Dies

The flamboyant Reverend Ike has died at the age of 74. Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II promoted a gospel of material prosperity on TV and to the large congregation at the United Church Science of Living Institute in New York. Ike reached the height of his success during the 70s. His philosophy of mind over matter conflicted with traditional Christianity. He taught the root of all evil was the lack of money. When he moved his church into a Harlem movie theater, he shortened his name to fit on the narrow marquee outside to Reverend Ike. The cause of death was not given. Read more at his website.

College & Church

College students majoring in the social sciences and humanities tend to become less religious over their college days. A National Bureau of Economic Research paper along finds education and business become MORE religious over time. tHE determining factors as to whether the student became less or more religious in the study:

• Worship attendance
• How important the student valued religion in their life

Other findings: Majoring in the physical sciences did not affect students' religious attendance but these majors put less importance on religion later. Majoring in education appeared to increase service attendance.

What Mormons Believe

Are your political views..
Conservative - 60%
Moderate – 27%
Liberal – 10%

Which way do you lean?
Republican- 65%
Democrat – 22%

Should homosexuality be discouraged?
Yes- 68%

Should abortion be illegal?
Most or all the time- 70%

Source: Pew Forum

IRS Ends Probe

The IRS has ended its investigation into a Minnesota church. The agency was following up on complaints that Gus Booth of Warroad Community Church in Warroad told parishioners how they should cast their ballot. The IRS says it may look at the church again at a later time but due to an unnamed procedural issue, the issue will be dropped for now. Booth reportedly endorced John McCain's political positions are more in line with Biblical teaching than those of Barack Obama.

Escape from Church

A car chase took place near Salt Lake City because a boy didn’t want to go to church this past Sunday. Someone called 911 and alerted Weber County Deputies of the 7-year-old boy's reckless driving. But they couldn’t get him to stop the Dodge Intrepid until after he ran a couple of stop signs, speed up to 40 mph and reached his home. The boy pulled into a garage and ran into his house. His father was unaware of his son's flight. No charges were filed. Here's video of the chase.

Atheist Ad Settlement

Ad for an atheist group will go up on city buses in Bloomington, Indiana. They were turned down at first by the Bloomington Public Transportation Corporation. But the Indiana Atheist Bus Campaign sued. The groups have come to an agreement out-of-court that lets the ads go on buses at the rate of other advertisers and will pay for all the ACLU legal expenses in the case. The ads include slogans like In the Beginning Man Created God and You can be good without God.

New CCM Radio Station

Lincoln, Nebraska is about to get a new contemporary Christian radio station. KRKR-FM has been sold to Mission Nebraska for $1 million. It will relaunch Monday as My Bridge Radio pending FCC approval. It formally carried an adult contemporary format at 95.1 on the dial and was advertised as The Breeze. Former Nebraska football player Stan Parker is one of the people heading up Mission Nebraska along with Nebraska assistant football coach Ron Brown.

Falwell in Congress

Jonathan Falwell will deliver the opening prayer at the House of Representatives this morning. The son of Jerry Falwell, he's now the pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia. Congressman Bob Goodlatte invited him and will give a brief opening speech, welcoming Falwell to the House. You can watch Falwell on C-SPAN shortly before 10am Eastern.

Travolta Sticks With Scientology

Actor John Travolta is denying rumors that he's left Scientology over his son's death. The teenager died unexpectedly in January following a seizure in the Bahamas. A Travolta's spokesman told People "there's no change in the relationship between the Church of Scientology and John." Here's the article.

Info on Accused Killer

We’re learning more about the former Joyce Meyer Ministries’ employee accused of killing his family. Over objections from the organization, documents are being released as part of a lawsuit filed by Sheri Coleman's family. They are suing Chris Coleman for wrongful death. His application with Meyer says he’s a former Marine with many top-secret government clearances. The ministry gave him a $10,000 pay advance just a day after his wife and two sons were found dead in their home. More information is expected to come out soon.

De-Baptisms

Atheists have held de-baptism ceremonies on college campuses and at conventions over the past year. From the Atheist Coming Out Party to the De-Baptism Bash, groups like Secular Student Alliance and the American Atheists are promoting these types of activities to students at universities and in high schools. In the UK, the National Secular Society offers de-baptism certificates. More than 100,000 people have downloaded the form.

Newspaper Apology

A weekly Baptist newspaper is apologizing to the governor of Oklahoma. The Baptist Messenger published a proclamation that appeared to be signed by Governor Brad Henry. But Henry hasn’t given his support to the measure created by Republican representative Sally Kern. It says the US has forsaken its Christian heritage among other things. The Messenger is the official newspaper of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma and says it was a graphic artist mistake.

Baldwin is Bankrupt

Stephen Baldwin is filing for bankruptcy. The actor-turned-Christian is millions of dollars in debt and is seeking chapter 11 protection. His home is worth more than one million but he owes more than that on two mortgages and about $750,000 to the IRS. Add more than $70,000 in credit card debt to that total. A New York newspaper says a man was arrested for dealing heroin this past month who was allowed to live on Baldwin's property. Baldwin says he was just trying to help someone.

Charity Owns House

Feed the Children owns a million dollar home in Southern California. And the founder’s daughter lives there, according to a report in the Oklahoman. Larri Sue Jones is a Feed the Children vice president and an attorney.

A battle is underway for control of the charity that raises a billion dollars each year. Founder Larry Jones is fighting a majority of his board of directors who say they want to stop Jones from making poor financial decisions for the ministry.

Lunar Communion

A church celebrated a communion yesterday connection to the American space program. KHOU-TV in Houston explains.

Proposed Religious Speech Law

A religious speech amendment has been added to hate crimes legislation in Congress. The bill would make certain crimes related to "race, color, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability” federal offenses. Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas introduced the amendment that explicitly protects speech from the pulpit (digital or electronic)unless its intent was to cause violence. The bill still must weave its way through both houses of Congress but is believed to have a good chance of passage. The president has indicated his willingness to sign the legislation into law.

Survey of Scientists

A new survey shows just 33% of scientists believe in God and nearly half have no religious affiliation. That compares to 83% of all Americans who believe in God and 17% who are not religiously affiliated. Read more about the Pew Survey here.

Jimmy Carter & Dylan

Jimmy Carter says he lost interest in Bob Dylan’s music following the singers conversion to Christianity in the late 70’s. Kevin Mattson’s new book titled What the Heck Are You Up To, Mr. President? says the former president considered Dylan his favorite musician – but he enjoyed the pre-Jesus songs from the rock icon. The Ohio University historian uses most of the book to defend what’s known as Carter’s malaise speech.

Suit to Stop Engravings

A lawsuit has been filed to stop an architect from engraving the Pledge of Allegiance and In God We Trust at the entrance for tourists visiting the Capitol in Washington. Congress decided to add the engravings to the new Capitol Visitor Center this month. But the Freedom From Religion Foundation objects and has filed a lawsuit in federal court, saying the decision amounts to taxpayer-funded endorsement of religion.

Short Dies

The man who wrote The Gospel According to Peanuts has died. Robert Short was 76 years old. His best known work sold more than 10 million copies and became the top nonfiction bestseller in the US when it first came out in 1965. A few years ago, the ordained Presbyterian minister started a group called Christianity Without Doom or Gloom out of Little Rock.

Episcopal Church

The Episcopal Church is preparing to officially approve gay clergy serving in any position. At the Episcopal General Convention in Anaheim, California, bishops voted to affirm their support of the move. Delegates representing members and priests are expected to give their approval before the Convention ends this week. The move may end a moratorium on ordaining gay bishops passed at the last convention three years ago. The resolution does not mandate that all dioceses consider gay candidates but encourages them to do so.

Ex-Wife Takes Over Megachurch

Paula White will take the pulpit at Tampa’s megachurch Without Walls International tomorrow. Ex-husband Randy White resigned last week. Randy White says he quit over serious health concerns and this Sunday’s services will be used to honor him. Paula White has been away from Without Walls for more than two years, following the couple's divorced. The congregation has rocked by the death of Randy White's daughter from brain cancer and the hint of financial scandal. The couple is part of a federal inquiry into the church finances.

Bruno Protest

A Christian group is calling on cities to ban the Sacha Baron Cohen’s new movie Bruno which opens this weekend. Texas-based Movieguide is sending letters to city officials around the country suggesting they take a look at whether the film does not fit their community standards related to obscenity and pornography. Cohen plays a flamboyantly gay television host. The movie includes frontal nudity of men and woman. Groups of people appear onscreen engaged in various sex acts. It originally recieved an NC-17 rating but some scenes were trimmed and now it carries an R-rating.

Begging Church

WHAS-TV in Louisville, Kentucky reports on a controversial church that begs from people in the streets.

Obama Meets Pope

Barack Obama met with Pope Benedict today at the Vatican. It's Obama's first vist with the pontiff. They spent more than a half-hour in Benedict's private libraray and exchanged gifts. The Pope gave the President a copy of his book on church social teachings (among other items) and Obama giving the Pope a stole placed on the remains the first naturalized U.S. citizen to named a saint. The First Lady and the Obama children visited the Vatican as well.

Sign: “Islam is of the Devil”

A message on the front lawn of a Florida church is causing protests. It reads. “Islam is of the Devil”. The Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville explains on its website why the pastor decided to put up the controversial message. More than 100 people showed up for a prayer vigil on Sunday organized by the pastor of Emmanuel Mennonite Church in an attempt to get the sign removed. Later that night, someone torn it down but the message was put back up the next day.

Herod's Temple

Archaeologists may have found the spot where King Herod got the stones to build the Jewish Temple some 2000 years ago. That includes what’s known as the Western Wall. The Israel Antiquities Authority says the ancient quarry is more than 100 yards square. The stones, along with pottery, tools and coins were uncovered before construction of an apartment complex. The Roman legions destroyed Herod’s Temple in A.D. 70 after a Jewish uprising.

Mega-Home for Mega-Evangelist

A televangelist is building himself a $4 million house in South Carolina. Although the his ministry has recently laid off workers and made cutbacks to benefits, Inspiration Network CEO David Cerullo is paid one-and-a-half million in compensation.

Flyover Denied

The Air Force has turned a request to flyover the God and Country Family Festival in Nampa, Idaho. Air Force planes have made an appearance at the event for decades. But the military turned the request down because of the religious nature of the event.

Twittering Church

A Dallas church is experimenting with twitter. KDFW-TV reports.

"Convert the Atheist" Show

A new Turkish TV game show will feature attempts to convert a group of atheists. Four religious groups will have representatives (a Buddhist monk, Muslim imam, a Christian priest, and a rabbi) who pitch their faith to ten non-believers. Station Kanal T will give the winner a free trip to a holy site of their religion. The show has hit a speed bump. The Religious Affairs Directorate considers the concept disrespectful and doesn’t want to provide an imam to appear on the show.

Pink Menno Video

Here's video of the pink menno protest in Columbus, Ohio. Gay and lesbian Mennonites gathered outside the church's official convention to pray, sing and tell stories about how they've been ostracized in the denomination. Some 1400 members signed a letter calling on the church to allow homosexual members to participate in the church services. Inside the annual meeting, the subject was avoided because it had stirred up conflict at other meetings. Here is video of the protest.

Oldest Bible

Pages from the world's oldest Bible have been pieced together and can be viewed over the internet. The Codex Sinaiticus was written in Greek during the 4th-century on parchment leaves. Parts of it have been preserved in various locations around the world. The unification project has required the cooperation of experts from serveral countries including Russia, the UK, Germany and Egypt. The Codex may be the oldest large bound book known to exist and contains a complete New Testament and most of the Old Testament.

Theme Park Free Day

Trinity Broadcasting is hiding the date of their required free day at the Holy Land Experience near Orlando. The religion-based theme park must legally forego its annual $35 ticket price for a day in order to get their property-tax exemption. The last one was on February 5th. TBN officials say publicizing the event could overwhelm the park with visitors.

Lenny Kravitz

Singer Lenny Kravitz says he's been celibate for the past 4 years and had resolved to remain so until married. He tells the London Telegraph he believes it is was wrong to have sex without being married. "I think sex and intimacy and all that is very important. It’s just that I’m going to do it with my wife. And not everybody else." He went on to tell the paper, "I really do use Christ as my example and try to live this life and not just bullshit with it."

NY Megachurch Pastor Out

Warren Speaks to Muslims

Megachurch pastor Rick Warren addressed the annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America yesterday. During his 25-minute speech, he told the audience that "the two largest faiths on the planet" must work together to combat stereotypes and solve global problems of war, poverty, corruption, disease and illiteracy. He went on to say, "My deepest faith is in Jesus Christ. I am committed not only to the good news but the common good. Scripture says 'love your neighbor as yourself.' I am commanded to respect everybody." The annual convention pulls together more than 30,000 people each year.

LEGO Record

A Chicagoland church has set a world record using legos. More than 150 grade school-aged kids built a model of Noah's ark made of LEGOs at Harvest Bible Chapel. It's 12 feet long, 2 feet wide and stands 18 inches tall.

Baptists Turn Away Choir

Southern Baptists have disinvited a youth choir from taking part in a mission program. Broadway Baptist Church Chapel Choir has been told it can’t take part in the University of the Cumberlands' Mountain Outreach program because of the congregation’s stand on gay issues. The church was voted out of the Southern Baptist Convention last week. The church had decided to avoid offending gay couples by published a directory without family portraits. The choir will instead, is joining the First Baptist Church of Nashville for its mission trip.

A case before the Kentucky Supreme Court involves an $11 million grant coming from state funds for a new pharmacy school at the University of the Cumberlands. A gay rights group sued the school for expelling a gay student.

Okla Proclaimation

An Oklahoma lawmaker is offering a proclamation blaming our economic troubles on abortion, pornography, same-sex marriage, sex trafficking, divorce, illegitimate births, child abuse "and many other forms of debauchery." Sally Kern made headlines earlier this year when she said suggested homosexuality was a greater threat to the country than terrorism. Here's a report from Oklahoma City's KWTV.

Radio Ad Blitz

The religious left has launched an ad blitz on Christian and country music radio stations across the South. The ads call for support of a climate bill, that would cut greenhouse-gas emissions. The issue is framed as one of Biblical morality. The American Values Network spent nearly $200,000. The religious coalition will put $150,000 more to enlist support from pulpits in the West.

Michael Jackson Friend

" wanted me to study the Bible with him because he was raised as one of Jehovah's Witnesses early in life, [and] he would want his children to be raised the same way." family friend Firpo Carr t0 CNN

Pink Menno

A group of about 100 Mennonites dressed in bright pink are protesting the denomination’s views on gay issues. The church is holding its biannual convention in Columbus, Ohio. Those gathered outside to protest are calling it the pink Menno campaign. They have a petition with the names of 1400 Mennonites who say they support the effort.

Pastor Tasered

Houston-area Police tasered and arrested a pastor after a traffic stop involving one of his members. They used pepper spray to disperse a crowd of his parishioners. Here’s a video report from KPRC-TV.

CBN Evacuated

A white powder mailed to Pat Robertson's CBN Network in Virginia caused a stir today but it turned out to be a bodybuilding supplement. The company's Virginia Beach building was evacuated and closed as a precaution as a precaution until tests were run. The network is expected to open again tomorrow.

Joyce Meyer Court Dispute

The family of a woman allegedly killed by the former security chief at Joyce Meyer Ministries is asking a judge to force the organization to cooperate in their wrongful death lawsuit. Christopher Coleman is accused of murdering his wife, Sheri Coleman and their two children. Meyer’s says it will cooperate if the family agrees to a confidentiality agreement. The family wants travel records, flight plans, information about insurance policies, etc.

Mag Stands By Obama Church Story

TIME magazine is standing by its story that the 1st Family has picked Camp David's Evergreen Chapel as its primary place of worship. The White House denied the report on Monday but carefully worded its statement to leave room for the Obamas to attend the church while not declaring it home base. Here's what TIME has to say about the conflicting information.

Graham Has Cancer

A Texas megachurch pastor is battling prostate cancer. Jack Graham is taking two-months off from leading the 26,000 members of Preston Baptist Church in Plano. Graham has surgery last month. He twice served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Did Jackson Become a Christian?

Rumors are circulating that Michael Jackson became a Christian in his last days. He is said to have prayed recently with Christian singer Andrae Crouch and his sister. But she says the story isn’t entirely accurate. They did met with the pop star – but only to talk about recording songs with their choir on his next album. Before leaving they prayed and Michael listened and held hands with them. Read more on Andrae’s Facebook page.

Jackson grew up in the Jehovah's Witnesses and later dabbled in Kaballah and spent time with New Age guru Deepak Chopra. In the last few years, he reportedly followed several of his brothers into Islam.

Bible Club Ruling

The Supreme Court won’t hear the case of two students who weren’t allowed to start a Bible club at school. Officials at Kentridge High School in Kent, Washington didn’t let them form the group because non-Christians would not have been allowed to become voting members. Lawyers for the student may re-file the case to reframe the question before the court, focusing on the fact that the school district allows groups to limit membership based on gender, such as in the case of honor clubs just for girls and just for boys. The ruling could be applied to all kinds of clubs, such as a Republican club that prohibits Democrat from joining.

Obama Still Church Hunting

The White House is now denying widespread reports that President Obama has decided to make the Camp David presidential retreat his church home. A spokesman said today his family is still looking for a worship center. The Camp David reports came from reputable publications such as TIME magazine. Here's what we had earlier in the day on the story at ChristianNewsReport.

Funeral Protests OK

Missouri will not be able to stop an anti-gay church group from protesting near funerals. The Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of a lower court ruling that barred the state from enforcing a law that would create a buffer zone. Many other states have passed similar laws. The Missouri law was aimed at Kansas’ Westboro Baptist Church whose members believe US soldiers are dying because the country tolerates homosexuality.

President Pick's Church

TIME magazine's report on Barack Obama's new church. ChristianNewsReport offers some info here.

H1N1 Prompts Changes

WLFI in West Lafayette, Indiana reports on how swine flu is affecting services.

Obama's New Pastor

Barack Obama’s new pastor is a Southern Baptist. The President has picked Camp David’s Evergreen Chapel at as his primary place of worship. It’s the same place George W Bush attended. The nondenominational Evergreen Chapel seats only about 150 people. It’s only a third full on most Sundays and is open to the nearly 400 military personnel and staff at Camp David. The Navy rotates chaplains through pulpit duties every three years. The present chaplain is Lieutenant Carey Cash from Memphis. Cash is a Southern Baptist who got his degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.

Bible Giveaway Arrests

Police arrested three people at the Minneapolis Pride Festival for handing out Bibles this weekend. Brian and Doris Johnson have passed out free Bibles at the festival for more than a decade. But organizers refused to allow the Hayward, Wisconsin couple to have booth. They were arrested for trespassing along with their son.

Jon & Kate Book

A Christian publisher still plans to release a book about Jon & Kate Plus Eight despite the couple’s pending divorce. Zondervan is set to put Kate Gosselin’s book on store shelves this fall. It’s titled Love is in the Mix: Making Meals into Memories and will offer recipes and "meaningful mealtime blessings”. Zondervan has already released two books about the couple who announced their separation on a recent episode of their popular TLC network show.

Church Softball Player Dies

A Cleveland man died following a collision on a softball field during a church league game. WJW has the story.

Bible Study Ban Removed

The Tulsa Housing Authority has reversed itself and told Child Evangelism Fellowship it can hold Bible studies again in public housing projects. The Youth at Heart organization, a non-profit that administers recreational programs for the Housing Authority had told the ministry there is a prohibition on religious instruction on public housing property. Young at Heart insisted teachers not mention God or Jesus The meetings had been a part of CEF's summer outreach for the past two decades.

Dollar Lawsuit

Creflo Dollar is being accused of stealing a business idea from a California businessman. Devone Lawson filed a lawsuit against the Atlanta TV preacher, saying he first came up with a spiritual text message business concept. He now wants $10 million. Dollar is one of several televangelists who’ve come under Congressional scrutiny in recent years over the financial setup of his ministry.

Library Loses in Court

A California library has been ordered to let a Christian group use its facility. The Contra Costa County Library had refused to let Faith Center Church Evangelistic Ministries meet at the Antioch branch. A federal judge says that's unconstitutional because the room is open for public use. It's been used by groups like Sierra Club and Narcotics Anonymous.

New Lobbyist

The National Association of Evangelicals has a new lobbyist in Washington. Richard Cizik is out after he endorsed gay civil unions. Galen Carey who has worked for World Relief (the NAE's humanitarian arm) will take over. He attended Trinity University in Chicago and earned his doctorate from McCormick Theological Seminary. Cizik is now helping to organize a Muslim-Christian dialogue and a nationwide Earth Day in 2010.

Warren to Islamic Meeting

Mega-church pastor Rick Warren will speak at the upcoming annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America over the Fourth of July weekend in Washington, D.C. The Saddleback Church pastor will take part in a panel discussion. Some 40,000 Muslims are expected to attend.

Baptists Cut Ties with Church

Southern Baptists have ended a 125-year old relationship with a Texas church over gay members. The annual Southern Baptist Convention, meeting in Kentucky, decided to dismiss Fort Worth’s Broadway Baptist Church. The church has a controversy arise two years ago about whether to include photos of same-sex couples in the membership directory. The congregation decided to compromise by including group photos rather than shots of single families. Here is more about the photo controversy. Staff members say the church has taken no stance on gay issues.

Church Losing Home

WAVY-TV has the story of a Newport News, Virginia church forced to leave its facility.

Jon and Kate

Kate of Jon and Kate Plus 8 was featured in a video series for a Chicago megachurch called Families at their Best. But now that the couple featured on the TLC reality show are divorcing, Willow Creek Community Church is trying to reach out to Kate Gosselin. The live interview between her earlier this year with the church’s teaching pastor draw a large crowd. They discussed her faith and family. However, TLC would not allow the program to be recorded.

Rock & Religion

The lead singer of the band Disturbed grew up as an Orthodox Jew and almost became a rabbi.

Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath got his start playing R&B in a church basement.

Born-again artist Alice Cooper was rumored to have ripped the head off a live chicken at one of his concerts.

Dee Snider and JJ French of Twisted Sister along with Scott Ian of Anthrax took part in VH1's televised seder Matzo and Metal: A Very Classic Passover.

In 1992 Sinead O' Connor ripped up a picture of Pope John Paul II on live TV in protest of the Catholic Church's policies.

As a child, Michael Jackson went door-to-door as a missionary, distributing the Jehovah’s Witnesses Watchtower magazine.

Phish performs a version of a High Holiday prayer in Hebrew.

The rap group Run DMC includes an ordained minister.

Prince was born a Seventh-day Adventist and later became a Jehovah's Witness.

When he converted to Islam, Cat Stevens assumed the name Yusuf Islam.

Norah Jones’ father is legendary sitar player Ravi Shankar.

Episcopal Alternative

KDFW-TV in Dallas-Ft Worth has a video report on a new alternative for Episcopalians.

Jon Stewart Called a Prophet

"The Hebrew prophets often use humor, satire, and truth-telling to get their message across, and I feel you do a combination of all three. I think you are a little like a Hebrew prophet after all." - Jim Wallis writing in the July issue of Sojourners magazine to the Daily Show's Jon Stewart

Video Game Murder

An Ohio pastor's son says he killed his mother for taking away his video game. A judge sentenced Daniel Petric to 23 years in prison for shooting her and his father. Petric says she tried to stop him from playing Halo 3. He had been playing it as much as 18 hours a day. The judge in the case said in his ruling, “I feel confident that if there weren't such things as violent video games, I wouldn't know Daniel Petric.” His father is pastor of New Life Assembly of God in Wellington, Ohio. He told the judge that the family had forgiven him and asked for leniency.

Motto Vote in Congress

The House will vote this Wednesday on whether In God We Trust should be engraved in stone at the new Capitol Visitor Center along with the Pledge of Allegiance. E Pluribus Unum had been put up by the directors of the Visitor Center as the nation’s motto but two lawmakers caught the mistake. If it passes the House, the bill will move to the Senate.

Top Book

WORLD Magazine has tapped the English Standard Version Study Bible as its Book of the Year. Coming in at 2750 pages, it was first published in 2001 and updated in 2008. This study Bible includes more than 20-thousand commentary notes from nearly 100 scholars.

Thomas Kinkade: Fraud Allegations

A judge has ordered Thomas Kinkade to pay more than two-million dollars to two gallery owners. They claim he left them financially ruined by using religion to get them to make large investments in a project that had no chance of success. Other investors sued Kinkade but were not successful in court. Kinkade is considering an appeal of this latest ruling.

Kinkade’s distinctive style has been panned by the critics but has sold well to Evangelicals. He often uses Christian themes in his work.

No Tracts at Arab Fest

A Christian group won't be handing out tracts at the Arab festival in Dearborn, Michigan that starts today. A judge sided with the city which decided the Arabic Christian Perspective had to be stopped from giving out religious literature as a matter of public safety. The organzation has been offered a table or booth instead.

Kurt Warner

KTVK-TV interviews Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner about Habitat for Humanity.

Focus Changes Policies

Focus on the Family is loosening up. No longer are women required to wear dresses or skirts with hosiery. Workers at the organization founded by James Dobson and based on Colorado can wear dress pants and pantsuits. And men can skip the business suits for an open-collar shirt.

Bomb Squad Finds Bible

The bomb squad was called to the post office in Leavenworth, Kansas today because a suspicious package was left on a counter. Officers used a disrupter gun to blast it. Inside they found a Bible. They speculate that the owner intended to mail the package but failed to do so during a visit to the Post Office.

Judge Sides with Ministry

A judge says a Messianic Jewish ministry may legally hand out tracts at a gay pride event in St. Louis. City officials had threatened to arrest members of Apple of His Eye when they tried to give away literature at the St. Louis' PrideFest last year. The next one is set for the last weekend of June. When a lawsuit was first threatened, the city reversed the ban . But the ministry wanted to make sure they were on firm legal ground and followed through on the suit. The literature handed out by Apple does not mention homosexuality.

Mormons Misunderstood?

TIME magazine will offer an article in its next issue on whether Mormons are misunderstood on the question of gay marriage. Here's a link to the online version of the article.

A Franklin, Virginia Church of God pastor who lost everything in a fire is counting his blessings. WAVY has this video report:

Protests at Seattle Churches

Places of worship were picketed around Seattle today. KOMO-TV has this video report.

Baptists Gather

Some 25,000 Missionary Baptists are gathering in Houston. KRIV-TV has this report.

Is Planet Aid a Cult?

WTTG-TV investigates a group that says it's a charity but many people call a cult.

Bank Sues Robertson

SunTrust Banks has filed a lawsuit against Pat Robertson for $3.6 million. Robertson tried to get a Los Angeles oil refinery going in the 1990s but the project failed because of environmental roadblocks. SunTrust claims Robertson should reimburse it for costs related to the deal. The Regent University president says the property was sold several years ago and he owes the bank nothing.

Sanitation Saga

Some Amish in Pennsylvania are refusing to go by local sewage laws. The New York Times has this report.

Bookstore Bankruptcy

Berean Christian Stores has filed for bankruptcy protection. The chain of Christian bookstores has debt of $10 to $50 million and owes the most to two publishers: Thomas Nelson and Zondervan. Sales are down some 20% this year. The company was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Cincinnati. It operates stores in Arizona, California, Georgia, Montana, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.