World Vision is preparing to distribute hygiene items, clothing, and toys in Dallas and Jackson, Mississippi, for millions of people who are fleeing Hurricane Gustaf, spokeswoman Rachel Wolff told me this afternoon.

The Christian relief and development organization has been working with more than 150 churches and organizations along the Gulf coast, Dallas, and Jackson since Hurricane Katrina.

"We expect that people are going be turning to churches house them," Wolff said. "The faith community is going to be at the forefront of this response. We want to make sure people don't fall through the cracks. Even if the storm misses the U.S., we still have more than million people are evacuated who still have needs."

The organization distributed $10.2 million worth of donated goods and $6.1 million in grants to local churches and organizations after Hurricane Katrina. Donations to World Vision can be made by calling (888) 56-CHILD on on its Web site at www.worldvision.org.

Howard M. Friedman at Religion Clause reports that the Institute for Southern Studies just released in August a report titled Faith in the Gulf: Lessons From the Religious Response to Hurricane Katrina. The report concludes that: "More than any other nongovernmental sector - and in many cases, better than government agencies - faith organizations were able to quickly and effectively deliver the people and resources needed to help storm victims in need."

The Baptist Press reports that the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary President Chuck Kelley called for a mandatory evacuation of the main campus.

Michael Paulson of the Boston Globe writes that the Rev. Jane B. Bearden, an Episcopal priest from Massachusetts, is blogging about Hurricane Gustav from Biloxi, Miss.

"We had about 55 today for church. There is a sense of relief that we will get minimal hurricane frce winds and only a 15 ft surge - 1/2 of Katrina. But there is great sadness for New Orleans. I cried all the way home. One of the parihsioners had come along I 10 and she said that all she could see for mile after mile were LA plates. I am reminded of Jesus weeping over Jerusalem. And now I am crying again. I have got to stop that as I need to go put baptismal records in plastic bags and feed the cats..."

Update: Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008, 8:30 a.m.

Here's what the Voice of America reports:

The U.S. National Weather Service says hurricane Gustav has increased in intensity, with winds reaching 180 kilometers per hour as it crosses the Caribbean towards Cuba. More than 80 deaths in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica have been attributed to Gustav, which is now being called a "major hurricane." It is expected to hit western Cuba Saturday, and is heading toward the southern United States, including New Orleans, which was devastated by hurricane Katrina exactly three years ago.

Don't think that hitting Cuba won't hit the church. The Cuban charismatic movement seems to be evident in every nook and cranny of Cuba. In fact, I had lunch last week with a Christian leader involved in minisry on Castro's domain. And, he told me that Christianity in Cuba continues to explode, growing year after year. Born-again military officers, doctors, lawyers, government officials are giving up on their careers and doing church-planting, island-wide.

Today, Gustav is expected pay a memorable visit to Cuba. No visa, no hotel reservation, no permit from the US Treasury to spend dollars there.

There's this update from the Salvation Army about the US Gulf coast.

Preparedness for Gustav begins as Hurricane Katrina's third anniversary approaches Alexandria, Va. (August 28, 2008) - Salvation Army personnel throughout the Gulf Coast are mobilizing to respond to Tropical Storm Gustav, expected to develop into a serious category three hurricane by early next week. Army units in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas have 100 mobile feeding units and three fully-equipped 54-foot field kitchens ready for immediate response. Additionally, The Salvation Army is prepared to supplement Gulf Coast states with 70 canteens from inland states, as was necessary in response to Hurricane Katrina. In total, The Salvation Army is prepared to provide a minimum of 560,000 meals a day as necessary.

"The Salvation Army is prepared to respond immediately to the needs of survivors, emergency aid workers, and volunteers in communities affected by the storm's landfall," said Major Gene Hogg, Divisional Secretary for Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. "The Army recognizes how difficult these circumstances can be and will do everything in our power to assist individuals and families following this storm as we do in these communities 365 days a year."

In addition to feeding, The Salvation Army is prepared to provide:

Clean-up kits containing brooms, mops, buckets and cleaning supplies
Hygiene kits
Drinking water
Shower units
First-aid supplies
Missing persons support through The Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (www.satern.org) and
Emotional/spiritual care
The Salvation Army encourages all residents of areas in Gustav's path to prepare an Emergency supply kit, an evacuation plan and stay informed to all warnings and evacuation orders. Disaster response professionals recommend having a three to five day supply of food and water for each individual of your family as well as flashlights, medication, and battery powered radio.

"It is imperative that residents of New Orleans and the central Gulf Coast region heed all warnings and orders associated with Tropical Storm Gustav, regardless of its path," said Captain Ethan Frizzell, Area Commander for The Salvation Army in New Orleans. "It is important that each of us prepare now for Gustav."

The Salvation Army asks people who want to help those affected by Hurricane Gustav to visit www.salvationarmyusa.org or call 1-800-SAL-ARMY. Monetary donations are needed to meet survivors' most immediate needs.

Pray against Gustav.

PS CT readers are welcome to post updates on the messages section about ministry resources. If you are in the path of the storm and have on-the-scene updates, email me directly: TMorgan@christianitytoday.com

Why do people care about the environment? Critics often dismiss ecoconcern as something irrational - as in the derogatory label tree hugger. But for religious believers (whether Christians, Buddhists, Jews, or Muslims), there are reasons that are deeply rooted in their belief systems.

Renewal (4 stars) is a 90-minute DVD featuring eight stories of religious groups taking environmental action. The documentary leads off with a group of evangelicals drawing attention to the impact of "mountaintop removal" mining operations on poor residents of Appalachia. Most memorable are scenes at a Jewish environmental summer camp where campers weigh their collective food scraps after each meal as they learn to cut down on waste - a value shared by Jews and Christians (at least Puritans and Mennonites). Groups that want to use the DVD for discussion purposes can learn more at the Renewal website.

This situation in Orissa state seems to get worse by the hour.

Finally, major American media is waking up to this sickening story. Here's the latest from the New York Times and their in-country correspondent:

NEW DELHI - At least 3,000 people, most of them Christians, are living in government-run relief camps after days of Christian-versus-Hindu violence in eastern India, government officials said.

The government said that many people were also living in the jungle without any shelter and security because of the tensions, which erupted in violence after a Hindu leader was killed Saturday. At least 10 people, most of them Christians, have been killed since.

Christian community leaders say that at least 1,000 Christian homes have been set on fire since Monday, rendering more than 5,000 people homeless.

Many of those living in the jungle were without food or water, said the Rev. Dibakar Parichha, a priest at the Roman Catholic church in Phulbani, a town in Orissa State. Father Parichha said that about 90 places of worship, including small churches and prayer halls, had been burned down. Local officials said the figure was about 20.

The violence has occurred in Kandhamal, a district in Orissa State that has a history of communal and ethnic clashes. The latest conflict started Saturday night, when unidentified armed men stormed a Hindu school in Kandhamal and killed the Hindu leader Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his followers.

The police suspected that Maoist rebels were responsible. But Hindus blamed Christians. In the retaliatory violence, 500 houses were burned. All nine towns in the district are under a curfew, and the police have license to shoot. At least two people have been killed in violent reprisals in other districts of Orissa, including a woman who died when an orphanage was burned down.

What would drive Hindus to blame Christians? Orissa is one of the hot spots where allegations about coerced conversion to Christianity seem always to lie just under the surface.

The news media inside India are a lot less shy about stating the extremist allegations of Hindu fundamentalists:

The People's Liberation Revolutionary Group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Azad, claiming to represent the group, called up newspaper offices to say, "We killed the Swami as he was mixing religion with politics..."

Swami Laxamanananda was spearheading the re-conversion movement in the district to bring back converted Christians to the Hindu fold.

VHP leaders disagree with the police theory blaming Maoists and believe that they are "hoodwinking people by shifting the blame". State VHP secretary Gouri Prasad Rath told HT: "This attack is the handiwork of the Christians. There were four home guards at the ashram. Had the attackers been Maoists, they would have first attacked these cops. Swamiji was fighting the missionaries for four decades. We see a clear Christian conspiracy behind this attack."

Click here for the full article from the Hindustan Times.

This episode is a huge set back for the national government in India.

What are they talking about? It has to do with the question of Hindu-on-Christian or Hindu-Christian attacks. Look at this report on the Voice of America:

Authorities issued shoot-at-sight orders and police staged marches Wednesday in Orissa's Kandhamal District, the region worst-hit by violence between Hindus and Christians.

Or, the BBC:

Four people have been killed in armed clashes that broke out between Hindus and Christians in the Indian state of Orissa at the weekend.

Inside India, Christians strongly disagree, saying innocent Christians are being targeted and singled out for attacks. In a statement released yesterday, All India Christian Council said:

"Some people have called the violence ?Hindu-Christian clashes'. But this is not accurate. Innocent Christians ? mostly of Dalit origin ? continue to be attacked by communal organizations which are mocking the rule of law. Governance in Orissa state appears to have disintegrated," said Dr. Joseph D'souza, President of the All India Christian Council (aicc).

Christians are calling on Christian schools nationwide to close tomorrow, Friday, Aug. 29, to protest the riots and the lack of police protection. Keep reading for the full press release:

Christianity Today online editor Sarah Pulliam is in Denver for the Democratic National Convention. She'll also be in Minneapolis for the Republican meeting next week. She will mostly be posting over at our politics blog, so be sure you're not only watching this space. Her work there has already started with coverage of today's interfaith gathering.

Best-selling author Donald Miller will give a benediction Monday night at the Democratic National Convention. He replaces Relevant Magazine founder and CEO Cameron Strang, who decided not to give the benediction at the Democratic National Convention as previously planned.

Christianity Today featured Miller on its cover in June 2007, and his spirituality book Blue Like Jazz has sold more than one million copies.

"Don is one of the top names among young evangelicals," said Joshua DuBois, director of religious affairs for the Barack Obama campaign. "We didn't think he would do it. We're just ecstatic. I love Blue Like Jazz myself. I think it sends a huge signal that someone who's is helping to lead off the conventions is an evangelical of his calibre."

I spoke to Miller this morning.

Why did you choose to accept the invitation?
Somebody calls you and asks you to pray, you do.

You get three minutes to pray? Have you thought about what you're going to pray?
I've not written the prayer yet, but I really wanted to hone in on the theme of unity, even unity between Republicans and Democrats. In the convention, as we highlight our differences that we wouldn't forget that we're unified, we have more in common than we don't. That's the focus of the prayer.

Cameron Strang was in that slot before and said that people perceived the prayer as showing favoritism. Are you worried you'll receive the same reactions?
I'm not. I'm a registered Democrat. While that's perceived as black or white, or hostile toward the Republican Party, I grew up in the Republican Party. I even attended as a kid the Republican National Convention when it was in Houston when Bush Sr. was running against Clinton. I changed parties about five years ago. I really felt like the Republican Party was taking advantage of the evangelical community by throwing us abortion and gay marriage, really not giving the heart of Christ more thought. I felt like it was the party of the extremely wealthy and they needed this conservative base in order to get a majority and so they pandered to us.

(The rest of the Q & A is posted after the jump.)

Relevant Magazine founder and CEO Cameron Strang decided not to give the benediction at the Democratic National Convention as previously planned.

Strang said his planned prayer was perceived as showing favoritism, so he pulled out and recommended Blue Like Jazz author Donald Miller instead.

Strang sent the following statement to me in an e-mail.

"As a pro-life voter, I never intended my participation to imply unequivocal endorsement, and the DNC knew that and were fine with that. I viewed it simply as an opportunity to continue positive dialogue, show support for a continuing emphasis on faith issues, and pray in a forum where faith isn't typically thought to be emphasized. I wanted to show that this generation of values voters doesn't necessarily need to draw battle lines politically the way previous generations have, that we can work through areas of disagreement to further the common good.

"However, the reality is, through RELEVANT I reach a demographic that has strong faith, morals and passions, but disagreements politically. It wouldn't be wise for me to pick a political side, when I've consistently said both sides are right in some areas and both sides are wrong in some areas. My desire is to keep an open dialogue with both campaigns and talk about the issues that matter to my generation of Christians. If my praying at the DNC was perceived as showing favoritism and incorrectly labeling me as endorsing one candidate over the other, then I needed to have pause. And that's what was happening.

"So I brought that concern up to the DNC, and they understood. I recommended bestselling author Don Miller as a much better representative of our audience than I am, and they were glad to invite him to give the invocation in my place. I think this will ultimately be much better for the DNC. The campaign and I still have positive dialogue, and I'm thankful for that.

"Like I mentioned, they've invited me to participate in a "Faith in the '08 Election" panel on Thursday, which seems to be a perfect fit. It allows me to continue a positive conversation with the DNC and be involved a bit more behind the scenes. I want to make sure our generation of Christians has a place at the table, so to speak, and this will afford us that chance -- even moreso than if I was to give a prayer onstage.

"As an aside, in a "put your money where your mouth is" move this week, I changed my party affiliation from Republican to Independent. I want to vote because of values and convictions, not party affiliations. To me, that's an important part of being a thinking, values-minded Christian."

Originally posted at Christianity Today's politics blog.

Emir Caner, who converted from Islam to Christianity when he was a boy, has been tapped as the next president of Truett-McConnell College in Georgia. Kudos to Caner, but man do I disagree with his opinion of why someone should choose a Christian education.

"A parent should choose a Christian higher education for their child because of the investment in the student's mind. When they send their child to a Christian liberal arts college like Truett-McConnell, they are doing it for two primary reasons. First, they are sending their child to an institution that guards the mind from the destruction that can come from a secular education, and second, that prepares their child not just for a profession but also for how to live a life of character," Caner said.

"A Christian cannot be defined by what he or she does but by their character. That character, in turn, is formed by the investment of professors and staff who pour themselves into a student who will gain a thoroughly Christian worldview."

I hope he wouldn't think less of me for choosing to attend a big, liberal, secular university, where I had to consciously decide how I wanted my worldview shaped. Really, it's not as scary as many of good Christians think.

The more interesting element of Caner's story, though, is not his vision for Truett-McConnell, which, forgive me, I had never heard of. It's that he chose Christianity over Islam, despite what it cost him:

Relevant Magazine founder and CEO Cameron Strang and Florida mega-church pastor Joel Hunter will pray at the Democratic National Convention later this month, according to a DNC press release.

Strang will give the benediction on Monday, August 25 and Hunter will give the benediction on Thursday, August 28. Sojourners head Jim Wallis will moderate the faith caucus on "Common Ground on Common Good" and "Faith in 2009: How an Obama Administration will Engage People of Faith" on Tuesday, August 26.

David Gushee, professor of Christian ethics at McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University, will be a panelist on the caucus on "Moral Values Issues Abroad" on Thursday, August 28. The full list of religious speakers is below.

The transcript of the Saddleback forum is available here. For more election coverage, bookmark CT's politics blog.

One of the more surprising questions from Rick Warren was, "Which Supreme Court justice would you not have nominated?"

Barack Obama said Clarence Thomas.

"I don't think that he was as strong enough jurist or legal thinker at the time for that elevation. Setting aside the fact that I profoundly disagree with his interpretation of a lot of the Constitution. I would not nominate Justice Scalia although I don't think there's any doubt about his intellectual brilliance because he and I just disagree, you know. ... One of the most important jobs of I believe the Supreme Court is to guard against the encroachment of the executive branch on the power of the other branches and I think that he has been a little bit too willing and too eager to give an administration whether it's mine or George Bush's more power than I think the constitution originally intended."

John McCain said Justice Ginsburg, Justice Breyer, Justice Souter, and Justice Stevens.

"This nomination should be based on the criteria of proven record of strictly adhering to the constitution ... and not legislating from the bench. Justice Alito and Justice Roberts are two of my most recent favorites. I’m proud of President Bush for nominating them."

CBN's David Brody interviewed Sen. Barack Obama right after the Saddleback forum, and when he asked about the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, Obama became pretty heated.

"They have not been telling the truth ... I have said repeatedly that I would be completely support of the federal bill, which is to say that you would provide assistance to any infant that was born. ... That was not the bill that was presented at the state level. It was trying to undermine Roe v. Wade."

Brody will post the full video later tonight.

McCain had some criticism earlier this week among some religion-and-politics bloggers when he noted that Georgia is "one of the world's first nations to adopt Christianity as an official religion."

The criticism earlier focused on the church-state aspects of the comment.

"First of all, a nation cannot 'convert' to Christianity -- only individuals can choose to follow Jesus Christ," Wake Forest University's Melissa Rogers wrote on her blog. "Second, while some nations do establish an official religion, I find it disturbing that an American presidential candidate would seem to describe that as a good thing."

Steve Waldman thought the line was political, communicating:

1) I think having Christianity as an official religion is a fine idea in general
2) This is just like the Cold War when the forces of Christianity are at war with the forces of Atheism
3) I view the protection of Christians from attack worldwide as an important goal

Mark Silk just thought McCain's comment was weird.

But tonight, after McCain repeated the line, recent Eastern Orthodox convert Rod Dreher just got mad. "Total and shameless pandering to Evangelicals," he blogged. "As if Russia isn't a Christian nation. As if Russia hasn't been Christian for over a thousand years. As if Christianity had anything to do with this conflict."

Seriously, though, if you're looking for a good religion angle on the conflict, check out George Pitcher's Telegraph article on church responses.

Conservative evangelicals have raised John McCain's support of embryonic stem-cell research in opposition to his candidacy.

McCain addressed it briefly in his response to Rick Warren's "worldview questions." "For those of us in the pro-life community, this is a great struggle. … I’ve come down on the side of stem cell research, but I’m wildly optimistic that skin cell research … will make this debate an academic one."

Rick Warren: At what point is baby is entitled to human rights?
John McCain's answer: At the moment of conception. I have a 25 year pro-life record in congress, in the senate. This presidency will have pro-life policies. That’s my commitment to you.
Warren's answer: We won’t go longer on that one.

Warren: Define marriage.
McCain: A union between man and woman, between one man and one woman. The court overturned the definition of marriage. I believe they were wrong. I’m a federalist. I believe states should make that decision. That doesn’t mean that people can’t enter into legal agreements, that they don’t’ have the rights of all citizens.

When asked a question on evil, McCain said, "If I have to go to gates and hell and back, I will get Osama Bin Laden."

Rick Warren's question: How does faith work out for you on a daily basis?

John McCain's answer: "It means I’m saved and forgiven."
He then told a story about worshiping with another Christian during his captivity in Vietnam. On Christmas, a North Vietnamese guard walked with him in the yard, and drew a cross in the dirt and quickly scratched it out.

"For a minute there, it was just two Christians worshiping together. I'll never forget that."

Obama has already had a lot of ink spilled on what he told Warren his biggest moral failure was: using drugs and alcohol and selfishness in his youth.

McCain's answer was short: "The failure of my first marriage." Background is here if the answer was a surprise.

The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder asks a good question: If "which Supreme Court member would you not have voted for" (and, I'd add, "what's your greatest moral failure") don't count as "gotcha questions," what's a gotcha question?

As for Warren, so far Rod Dreher thinks he's doing a bad impression of a journalist. but Steve Waldman points out that "Warren's questions are MUCH better than the TV journalists that moderated previous debates."

Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama just stood on the same platform for the first time this campaign.

One of the first questions Rick Warren posed to the candidates was: What would be the great moral failure in your life? What would be the great moral failure in America.

McCain said his personal failure was the failure of his first marriage but didn't say anything further on it. The country's greatest failure was its own self-interest.

"I think after 9/11, my friends, we should have told Americans to join the Peace Corps, expand the military, serve a cause greater than your self-interest," he said.

Obama's answer about himself:

"I had a difficult youth ... I experimented with drugs and drank ... I trace this to a certain selfishness on my point ... I couldn't focus on other people. The process of me growing up is to recognize that it’s not about me."

On the country's greatest failure:

"We still don't abide by that basic precept in Matthew that whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me. That basic principle applies to poverty to racism and sexism. It applies to not thinking about ladders of opportunity to get in the middle class. As wealthy and powerful as we are don't spend enough time thinking about the least of these."

Pastor Rick Warren posed a question on abortion to Sen. Barack Obama.

Warren asks, "At what point does a baby get human rights, in your view?"

Here is some of Obama's answer:

"Whether you’re looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity is above my pay grade.

"Let me speak more generally about the issue of abortion. One thing that I am absolutely convinced of is there is a moral and ethical element to this issue. ... I am pro-choice...not because I'm pro-abortion. But ultimately I do not think women make these decisions causally.

"I am for limits on late-term abortion.

"If you believe that life begins at conceptions, and you are consistent in that belief, then I can’t argue with you on that. That is a core issue of faith for you. What I can do is say are there ways to work together to reduce unwanted pregnancies.
As an example of that is, how do we provide the resources for women to keep a child? … Have we given them the options of adoption?"

Twelve percent of respondents believe Barack Obama is Muslim, according to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press

Rick Warren asked Obama: What does it mean to you to trust in Christ on a daily basis.

"I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins and I am redeemed by him. That is a source of strength and sustenance on a daily basis. I know that I don't walk alone. I know if I can get myself out of the way, I can maybe carry out in some small way what he intends. Those things that I have on a fairly regular basis will get washed way. It also means an sense of obligation to embrace not through just words but deeds the expectations God has for us. That means thinking about the least of these. It means acting justly, loving mercy, walking humbly."

At the Saddleback Civil Forum, Obama just said that he opposes a federal marriage amendment because he thinks it's not something the federal constitution should decide. It's a state issue, he says.

He also says he supports civil unions, but thinks marriage is between a man and a woman.

So why does he oppose California's Proposition 8? It only deals with marriage, but would allow civil unions.

If "leaving the issue to the states" doesn't mean allowing a state to define marriage, what does it mean?

Too bad Warren didn't ask a follow up question on it, considering it's his own state.

Update: Warren, who said he'd ask the same questions of both candidates, just asked McCain about the California Supreme Court decision and Proposition 8. McCain says he thinks the states rather than the federal government should define marriage, but does support a federal marriage amendment if necessary. He has also supported Prop. 8.

California mega-church pastor Rick Warren will interview the presumptive presidential candidates at 9 p.m. Eastern tonight.

The candidates will probably not introduce new political stances, but they may pitch new ideas of how to respond to issues like abortion or the environment.

So far, though, it seems as though several people are more interested in the questions Warren will ask. Warren has been kind of a poster child for evangelicals who have expanded their "agenda" from abortion and homosexuality to HIV/AIDS and the environment.

"I think Rick is in an unenviable position in that he stands to get attacked from the right and the left, based on what direction he takes," Mark DeMoss, an evangelical public relations specialist told Rachel Zoll of the Associated Press. "As an evangelical, I am much more interested in his list of questions than in either of their answers."

A nine-year legal dispute between the producers of the Left Behind movies and Tim LaHaye, who co-authored the books, came to an end last week when a settlement was reached between both parties.

Cloud Ten Pictures announced that the agreement ends a dispute that began in 2000.

According to The Christian Post, LaHaye had filed a lawsuit against Cloud Ten, claiming that the producers made a lower quality film than the contract demanded. Still, the first Left Behind film sold almost 3 million copies before its theatrical release in 2001, and earned $2.1 million on opening weekend. LaHaye was also reportedly dissatisfied with Cloud Ten's distribution strategies for the three Left Behind movies made so far.

The settlement gives LaHaye the right to remake the first three films based on his books, but if he doesn't exercise his option to remake the films, Cloud Ten will retain its current rights to make sequels.

"We are thrilled to finally have this behind us," said Andre van Heerden, CEO of Cloud Ten. "While we received repeated judgments from the courts that validated our rights, we were unable until now to finally put this lawsuit behind us."

LaHaye and co-author Jerry Jenkins told the Los Angeles Times in 2006 that they had naively sold the movie rights too early, ending up with what Jenkins called "church basement movies," with Kirk Cameron in the lead role. (Cameron, coincidentally, is starring in Fireproof, another Christian film coming in September from the makers of Facing the Giants.)

While the three films--Left Behind (2000), Tribulation Force (2002) and World at War (2005)--have enjoyed big sales and popularity in the Christian market, most critics would agree with Jenkins' assessment, usually giving the films low marks.

Cloud Ten producer Peter Lalonde told CT Movies in 2005 that he expected mainstream critics "to hammer us just because of the [Christian] message. . . . Of course, Hollywood sends messages every day, but they have always had this mindset toward Christian films, and frankly I think they still do."

The Left Behind series of books have sold a whopping 65 million copies. The 16th and final book released in April, 2007.

Nationally syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker released a book this summer that may prove an unlikely ally for those concerned about the lack of engaged men in American churches. In Save the Males: Why Men Matter, Why Women Should Care, Parker identifies our cultural moment as one in which it's acceptable to portray men as dumb, violent, sex-crazed, or irresponsible husbands and fathers. (Movies and TV shows like Everybody Loves Raymond, Two and a Half Men, and Knocked Up, to name but a few, typify this depiction.)

Parker, who frequently writes on families and sexuality, believes cultural "male-bashing" in part comes from the mainstreaming of a feminism that assumes men must be devalued so that women may rise to a place of equal treatment politically and professionally. What is refreshing about Parker's argument is that it's rooted not in shrill, anti-feminist rhetoric (she calls herself a feminist), but in Parker's personal history and current family situation: She was raised by a single father after her mother died, and now has three young boys. Her adolescence was marked by the realization that men are, well, human. Here's how she described it to Karen Spears Zacharias:

Each day after school, I joined [my father] at his law office where I did my homework until he finished up. Once home, we convened in the kitchen where he cooked while I perched on a wooden stool peeling potatoes. We talked.
In that ritualized communion, I learned many useful lessons about the opposite sex. I learned that men like to talk while doing something else. . . . I learned that fathers adore their children and will sacrifice anything to help them succeed. I learned that fathers will lay their lives down for their children. I learned that men are capable of honor, valor, compassion and courage and that they are essential to instilling those virtues in their sons and daughters.

Given Parker's thoroughly personalized vision of men and subsequent sensitivity to male-bashing, some of the antidotes to American churches' lack of men offered by David Murrow, author of Why Men Hate Going to Church and ChurchforMen.com, strike me as ironic. Could it be that Murrow's solutions -- shorter, to-the-point sermons, action-oriented worship songs like "Onward Christian Soldiers," ministries that feature cars or extreme sports -- play on the very caveman stereotypes that belittle men instead of help them utilize their gifts through full participation in church life?

Randall Wallace, best known for his Oscar-nominated script for Braveheart, has signed on with Disney to direct Secretariat, a film about the 1973 Triple Crown-winning racehorse and owner Penny Chenery.

Variety reports that Mike Rich, screenwriter for The Nativity Story, The Rookie and Finding Forrester, is writing the script for Secretariat.

Wallace and Rich, both Christians, have never worked together on a film, though Wallace did have a bit role as "Texas Oilman" in 2002's The Rookie. They have both spoken to CT Movies about their faith and work.

Disney hopes to start production on the film in early 2009.

According to Variety, Chenery knew little about horses when she took over her ailing father's horse farm in Virginia. After her father died, she was pressued to sell the farm and she was hit with a multimillion-dollar inheritance tax. But she saved both the farm and a young horse named Secretariat, who went on to become the first thoroughbred to win the Triple Crown in 25 years. Chenery became known as the "first lady of racing."

Wallace, a graduate of Duke University where he majored in religion, teamed up with Mel Gibson on Braveheart (Gibson directed and starred), and paired up with Gibson again for 2002's We Were Soldiers (Wallace wrote and directed, Gibson starred). Wallace recently finished a script for Atlas Shrugged, based on the novel by Ayn Rand and scheduled for a 2009 release.

Rich recently finished a script for Manhunt, the story of Colonel Everton Conger leading the hunt for Abraham Lincoln's assassin.

An associate professor of church history at Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, and senior editor of Christian History & Biography, Armstrong chooses his favorite websites about church history.

Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL)
This is the mother lode of church-history-related books by some of the most brilliant and inspiring of our foreparents. In a wide array of digital formats, you'll find G. K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy, John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, and Augustine's Confessions; volumes of the church fathers; an archive of hymn tunes; and much more.

Christian History & Biography
At this site, you'll find articles from current and past issues of the CT sister publication, a slew of online-only newsletters, and such goodies as This Week in Christian History, Person of the Week, and Quote of the Week. Also, I hear that its editors are working on some major improvements for the site that are coming soon, so stay tuned!

Early Church Online Encyclopedia
Though no longer maintained, ECOLE is a worthy archive. The glossary provides short definitions of early Christian people, groups, events, and ideas from Abelard to Zosimus. The longer articles address such topics as "Sadducees," "Stoicism," and "the Arian Controversy." The accompanying chronology pulls it all together.

Internet Medieval Sourcebook
This chronologically organized trove of primary documents is accompanied by pithy explanations of some of the important interpretive themes and arguments in medieval studies today. Check out, for instance, the material on feudalism: you think you know what this term means, but scholars today are changing their minds about it!

Met Museum: Timeline of Art History
This site links timelines to maps, providing a synoptic view of world art and architecture through history. The resources after A.D. 1, especially in the West, include a rich mine of material related to the history of Christianity. For example, see the essay on "Private Devotion in Medieval Christianity," linked in the timeline at "1400?1500, Europe."

The Times of London has published online leaked copies of private correspondence, dating from 2000, between then Bishop of Wales Rowan Williams and an evangelical therapist, regarding the perspective of Williams on homosexual relationships and orthodox Christianity.

Granted, the views of Williams, now Archbishop of Canterbury, are pretty well established. But the significance of these letters reveal how Williams came to hold these views, which in part were based on his interaction with gays in the church.

The bottom line for me is that the letters illuminate why Williams has been unable to provide the kind of leadership that would resolve these issues over human sexuality once and for all.

He's attempted to support the traditional teaching of the church, but earlier came to the personal conviction that in some instances homosexuals may have relationships that are wholesome and marriage-like. Rarely, have his views been stated so plainly.

Meanwhile, two additional update for consideration:

1. Soul Force founders marry in California at Episcopal church. Click here.

2. Archbishop Greg Venables, tooth-paste, and Humpty Dumpty. View Anglican TV interview here.

TIME recently highlighted its "100 Olympic Athletes To Watch." As Olympic coverage cranks up, you'll be hearing more and more about them, although current reports seem mostly to have to do with the athlete's ages, injuries, and drug use.

Press agency AMP is working with the USOC and NBC to highlight other aspects of the athletes' lives. They've told CT about a number of confessing Christians among the American athletes most likely to medal. A large proportion of them mention Philippians 4:13 in interviews and on their blogs: "I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

Allyson Felix, a sprinter, has a section about her faith on her blog that says, "If we can help you with your faith journey, and help you learn more about God, contact us." She's also one of the few athletes involved in USADA's Project Believe, which puts athletes through extensive drug testing. She wants everyone to know she's clean. After all, she's being compared to Marion Jones as well as Wilma Rudolph.

Tyson Gay has made a lot of news, for his hamstring injury, for being dubbed "Tyson Homosexual" by American Family Association's autoreplace, and now for being exceptionally polite. "When I raise my hands in the air it is to give God praise," he told a fan on Ask Tyson.

Prison guard and world marathon champion, Catherine Ndereba, aka Catherine the Great, is also on TIME's list as a Kenyan athlete to watch. This year's civil unrest in Kenya made training a lot scarier than it had been before, but Ndereba is back to winning again. Just over a week ago, she placed first in New York City's half-marathon.

Tonight the Associated Press is reporting the death of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Nobel prize-winning novelist whose work helped discredit the government of Josef Stalin. At 89, the author was the oldest living Nobel laureate.

Solzhenitsyn's literary and political vision was deeply informed by his Christian faith. Here is an excerpt from a 1994 Christianity Today article, in which author Peggy Jackson recounted Solzhenitsyn's return from exile.

To discuss Solzhenitsyn's Christianity is not to imply that he is going across the country preaching a religious message. He is not. His vision of Russia's future would seek to reverse the destructive force of "freedom" understood within a nonreligious, relativist framework. Last fall he said, "Religion is undoubtedly necessary, but it must not be forcibly implanted and even must not be intensively propagandized; it is passed from man to man as an intimate gift."

Read the rest of "A Russian Call to Repentance" from the August 15, 1994 issue of Christianity Today.

On the final morning of the Muslim-Christian conversation held last week at Yale, Christian participants eagerly anticipated what Christian speakers would have to say. Several Christian speakers had grounded their messages in explicitly Christian teachings, such as the doctrine of the Trinity. But there was a general sense that Muslim speakers had more pointedly articulated their beliefs during the nearly three days of meetings. (See earlier reports here and here.)

Early in the conference, reports circulated that when Regent College theologian John Stackhouse had used the parable of the Good Samaritan to present a clearly Christian viewpoint during the closed-door pre-conference workshop, some Muslim leaders had complained that Stackhouse was trying to evangelize them. Perhaps other Christian speakers were instinctively treading more softly.

During coffee breaks, several Christian participants told me they felt the Muslim speakers had been more carefully chosen to represent Islamic views. A Wednesday morning session which featured two famous preachers intensified this feeling.

Canterbury at the end of the Lambeth conference has become the land of many statements and restatements. But as predicted, there was no definitive action.

In summary, here are some of the things that did and did not happen:

1. Bishop of New Hampshire Gene Robinson did not gain official entrance to Lambeth. But he was frequently on site at the University of Kent, to the joy of some and the disgust of others.

2. Lambeth's 600 plus bishops (no official count or list has been released) did not approve an Anglican Convenant. Much discussion was held and more meetings on the covenant are expected lasting into 2009.

3. The Anglican Communion did avoid a formal split or schism. Yet even Rowan Williams admits the communion is still at 'gravel peril.'

4. Lambeth-attending conservative bishops and primates did voice much criticism of liberals and revisionist theology. But as yet the rhetoric of conservatives has not resulted in all revisionists clearly agreeing to bans on same-sex unions and gay ordinations.

The word stalemate still seems to fit this situation.

According to the Press Association (UK):

The Archbishop of Canterbury has called on North American churches to abide by agreements not to consecrate gay bishops or carry out blessings on same-sex couples. On the final day of the Lambeth Conference, Dr Rowan Williams put forward the idea of a "Covenanted future" involving a "global church of inter-dependent communities". The once-a-decade meeting of worldwide bishops has been dominated by the issue of gay clergy and same sex unions, which has threatened to tear the Church apart. Disharmony has seen 200 bishops - a quarter of those invited - stage a boycott. Some Anglican churches in North America have carried out blessings for same sex couples, in contravention of agreements not to do so, or moratoria. "If the North American churches don't accept the need for moratoria then to say the least we are no further forward," Dr Williams said. "The idea of a Covenant which includes as many of them as possible becomes more fragile and that means that as a Communion we continue to be in grave peril." He said it was often assumed that the blessing of same sex marriages or the ordination of gay bishops was simply a human rights issue. "That's an assumption I can't accept because I think the issue about what conditions a church lays down for a blessing have to be shaped by its own thinking and its own praying."

Click here for the sermon text for the final Lambeth service at Canterbury Cathdral. This seems more significant for what Rowan Williams doesn't say. He seems to place an unusually high value on the fact of conversation, not the results of conversation, debate, and dialog.

The Indaba process resulted in a lengthy reflections statement. Click here for the final Aug. 3 text.

Reporter Steve Waring (Living Church) indicates that once again many important conversations will be taken up months from now. Something sure to frustrate conservatives, liberals, and rank and file church-goers.

Continue for:

1. Steve Waring's dispatch.
2. Statement from Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori
3. Additional comments from conservative Bishop of Egypt Mouneer Anis.