Updated: Tuesday, Dec. 2, 5 p.m., CST

Inside a theater at the Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and Capitol Hill, Saddleback pastor Rick Warren praised President Bush for his commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS, malaria, and TB.

Eight years ago, who could have imagined that George W. Bush would receive such an award? Bush is now inside his final 50 days as president. This particular event didn't make the front page of the New York Times. In fact, the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day also didn't make many front pages around the country.

How is this possible when there are about 40 million people with the virus and the daily death toll is around 8,000 per day? If this daily carnage happened in one day in a single major metro area, of course, there would be wall to wall coverage, 24/7. (Maybe we need to re-label the virus as a terrorist plot.) A few years ago, when I last sat down to figure out the daily death toll, it was about 5,300 per day.

Bottom line: We are still losing this war against HIV even though it is no small miracle that the taxpayer-funded program, PEPFAR, has now surpassed the goal of having 2 million people on AIDS-fighting drugs. This new reality saves lives, reducing the number of orphans and helps build up the health care infrastructure.

The Monday celebration in Washington started with a period and ended with a question mark. The period is the 20-year period of time since the first World AIDS Day in 1988. Yes, the achievements in treatment, care, and prevention are historic and important. The level of cooperation between groups has rarely been higher. HIV activist David Miller now knows Jesus.

These are all really significant things.

The question mark is this: What will the Obama administration do? Well for the moment, we do have many encouraging words from world leaders, including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in support of the PEPFAR strategy.

But Obama in his own statement leaves us with this question from the Apostle Paul:

"If the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?" President-elect Obama clearly calls for a commitment to "confront and defeat this disease once and for all."

Wonderful. But disease prevention must be front and center and that's where the tug of war over human sexual behavior and traditional morality is taking place. And, that's not over by a long shot.

Sunday, Nov. 30
Tomorrow, on Monday, Dec. 1, Saddleback Pastor Rick Warren and his wife Kay will be holding a Global Civil Forum to award President Bush for his efforts in fighting HIV/AIDS worldwide, especially through the PEPFAR program.

Here's a few words from the press announcement:

Dr. Rick Warren will present President George W. Bush with the first "International Medal of PEACE" from the Global PEACE Coalition in recognition of his unprecedented contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS and other diseases during the Saddleback Civil Forum on Global Health, to be held at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. on World AIDS Day, Dec. 1.

At the Forum, Warren will engage both President Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush in candid conversation regarding past accomplishments and priorities moving forward regarding international health issues ? including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. President-elect Barack Obama will provide a video-taped message addressing the future of global health.

"No U.S. president or political leader has done more for global health than this Administration, which has raised the bar on America's role and responsibility for providing critical humanitarian assistance around the world," Warren said. "Over the past eight years, the President and Mrs. Bush have traveled the globe as they and their staffs have worked tirelessly to bring awareness and solutions to pandemics such as HIV/AIDS, and we are privileged to honor their efforts on World AIDS Day."

The "International Medal of PEACE" is given on behalf of the Global PEACE Coalition for outstanding contribution toward alleviating the five global giants recognized by the Coalition, including pandemic diseases, extreme poverty, illiteracy, self-centered leadership and spiritual emptiness. The Coalition is a network of churches, businesses and individuals cooperating together to solve humanitarian issues through the PEACE Plan, an effort to mobilize 1 billion Christians to Promote reconciliation, Equip servant leaders, Assist the poor, Care for the sick and Educate the next generation.

During the Forum, Warren will recognize President Bush and his Administration for their implementation and success of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which has provided $18.8 billion since 2003 to combat global HIV/AIDS. Congress has recently authorized an additional $48 billion for ongoing efforts to address this pandemic as well as tuberculosis and malaria over the next five years.

"As my wife Kay and I have been implementing the PEACE Plan in 68 developing countries, we have seen firsthand many of the hundreds of thousands of lives that have been saved through PEPFAR and the President's Malaria Initiative," Warren said. "I hope that this Forum will show the American people that our global health programs represent more than compassionate humanitarian efforts, but are also a strong, prudent pillar of American foreign policy."

The historic event will be appropriately held at the Newseum, a 250,000-square-foot museum of news, located at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Sixth Street, N.W., in Washington, D.C. Dedicated to offering visitors an interactive experience of how and why news is made, the Newseum will make news in and of itself by hosting this Forum, which will be the first original broadcast inside its 535-seat theater.

Click here for the live video feed. The event is scheduled to begin 10:30 a.m. Eastern time.

I expect to be there (provided the weather at Midway airport doesn't get much worse) and will give a full report late on Monday night or Tuesday, Dec. 2.

If you have thoughts about Worlds AIDS Day or the work of evangelicals against the virus, post them here or email me: tmorgan@christianitytoday.com

Posted by Tim Morgan at November 30, 2008 4:52PM | Comments (28)

Every November America's thoughts turn briefly toward those curious early settlers of New England. While it's the Pilgrims of Plymouth Plantation--those Separatists from the Church of England at the center of our much-contested Thanksgiving myth--who normally receive our attention, this year regular NPR contributor Sarah Vowell's bestseller, The Wordy Shipmates, has directed our gaze to their Puritan cousins to the north.

Vowell's breezy style and playful manner may put off those who hold the Puritans in high esteem as models of devotion. And her occasionally freewheeling conjectures will no doubt be deemed incautious by the guild of historians. Nevertheless, those serious about their Christian faith and those serious about history should take heart that she's respectfully mainstreamed both while offering a better-than-cursory treatment. Any book that sparks worthwhile conversation about the Puritans in the national press is a reason to give thanks.

Some of the more notable reviews:

Marc Arkin in The Wall Street Journal

Erika Schickel in the Los Angeles Times

Stephen Prothero in The Washington Post

And a brief interview in The Boston Globe.

Posted by Derek Keefe at November 25, 2008 7:52AM | Comments (2)

Sometimes rumors (and dreams) come true.

For months, there has been talk among ministry leaders, Christian journalists, and others that Rick Warren and the Reader's Digest Association were going to launch a magazine.

The announcement came today via email. Here's the basic concept:

The Reader's Digest Association, Inc., and Dr. Rick Warren, Pastor of Saddleback Valley Community Church and the author of the worldwide best seller, "The Purpose Driven Life," today announced a partnership to produce an inspirational multimedia platform called The Purpose Driven Connection.
Together the organizations will pool their international resources to produce and publish this Purpose Driven platform to help people who are seeking their purpose in life and wish to interact with others on their spiritual journeys. The platform will provide a suite of bundled multimedia tools: "The Purpose Driven Connection," a quarterly magazine; Small Group study materials delivered in DVDs, workbooks and downloadable discussion guides; and a state-of-the-art Christian social networking website.
"We are excited about this new partnership and its unprecedented potential for international impact," said Warren, who will serve as Editor-in-Chief and be heavily involved in the conception of each element. "The Purpose Driven Connection represents more than simply integrated multimedia resources; it will become a platform for a movement of people to change the world."
"We are delighted to be working with Rick Warren and the Saddleback team," said Alyce Alston, President of RDA's Home & Garden and Health & Wellness affinities. "This is one of our company's most important and far-reaching ventures ever. Together we will create a category-busting multimedia suite that will help millions of people in their daily lives, including those who already follow the Purpose Driven principles as well as seekers everywhere looking for greater fulfillment."
The Purpose Driven Connection revolves around the theme, "Your Life Matters," and mirrors Warren's book, which has sold more than 30 million copies since being released in 2002 and has been read by 60 million people and translated into nearly 100 languages. It also relates to Saddleback Church's PEACE Plan, initiated by Warren, which mobilizes Christians to combat global problems affecting billions of people, including spiritual emptiness, corrupt leadership, extreme poverty, pandemic diseases and illiteracy. To date, the PEACE Coalition has advanced the program among the public, profit and faith sectors in 68 countries.
The magazine, to launch early in 2009, will include stories of everyday people who have found God's purpose for their lives. The framework for the platform will be designed to provide five practical tools to communicate five spiritual purposes -- Knowing, Relating, Growing, Serving and Sharing -- each through a combination of teaching and testimony.

"The magazine will be consistent with our highest editorial standards," said Frank Lalli, RDA's Vice President of International Editions and Magazine Development. "In the best traditions of RDA, we are commissioning extraordinary photographers, illustrators and writers to travel the world and capture real-life stories that will change how readers think and inspire them to take action to improve society."

Since I have been writing about Saddleback Church, Rick and Kay Warren, the PEACE Plan, and their HIV/AIDS outreach, it has been fascinating to see how the story has taken many ups and downs, twists and turns.

Some parties seem to be missing in action here: Zondervan publishing, Fox broadcasting, News Corp.; and, Rupert Murdoch. In fact, Warren's new seasonal title, "The Purpose of Christmas," is being published by Howard Books. Simon and Schuster, the big New York House, purchased Howard Books in 2006.

Surely, News Corp. would have the global resources to produce The Purpose Driven Connection, but apparently it was a no-go. Hard to sort out why.

But, bloggers and others have been critical of Warren's association with Murdoch at least since 2007. You might hate World Net Daily. But click here for their 2007 account of the criticism.

In mid-2008, I interviewed Rick on the phone for close to an hour, but only a small portion of the interview was published in CT. Keep reading for one on-the-record out-take from that interivew.

Changing the World is Fun:

I've spoken to dozens of Christian leaders who have had involvement with the PEACE Plan and Saddleback missions efforts. They seem to be having so much fun in doing Christian ministry.

So I asked Rick about the fun element:

One of the aspects of the PEACE Plan that I don’t think you and I have ever talked about is the fun quotient. The people who are engaged in this process are having fun. They’re having the time of their life. Is that right?

It’s fun. It’s fulfilling, and it’s life changing. It’s paradigm shaking. The old idea, as we talked about before, of paying, praying, stay out of the way and let the professionals do it, those days are over.

Because we are so connected globally now and you can see what’s going on around the world and you can literally practically go anywhere in the world in about 24 hours, that means these people are no longer contented just giving a check. They want to be involved. They want to be involved. And when they go, they experience things that change their lives.

As I have said before, the old paradigm of missions was you pray about it, you pray, pray, pray, pray, pray. Then you study, study, study, study, study. And then you give, give, give, give, give. Maybe someday you go.

But PEACE turns that thing on its head. PEACE says just go. Don’t even pray about it. Just go, because the Bible says go. And it doesn’t say get a whole bunch of training before you go; it just says go.

And then, once you go, when you get out there, it grabs your heart.

And that is truly when the fun begins.

Posted by Tim Morgan at November 24, 2008 8:56AM | Comments (8)

In eastern DR Congo, the situation continues to get worse week by week. Yes, the hot side of the conflict has cooled a bit, but the humanitarian side of this political conflict grows more deadly day by day.

Congo's top Anglican leader has called the global church to pray for Congo tomorrow, Sunday, Nov. 23. Here's what the UK Church Times had to say:

THE Primate of the Anglican Church of the Province of Congo, Dr Fid?le Dirokpa, has called for this Sunday to be observed as a day of prayer for peace in the war-torn country, amid reports of continued clashes between rebel forces and government troops this week.

Government forces fought near the city of Goma with Tutsi rebels, who are under the leadership of General Laurent Nkunda, despite a ceasefire having been called.

Aid agencies estimate that about 250,000 people have been forced from their homes as a result of the escalation of violence in the past few weeks. They have warned of a humanitarian disaster. A letter from 44 community groups in the Dem?ocratic Republic of Congo has called for European troops to intervene, and accused the UN peacekeepers of being ineffective and powerless.

Dr Dirokpa's call for a day of prayer was echoed by the Bishop in Charge of the Convocation of American Churches in Europe, the Rt Revd Pierre Whalon, who said on Tuesday that many of "our Anglican sisters and brothers . . . have been deeply affected, and are in the fore?front of relief efforts and peace?keeping". He described the situation as "underreported".

"In addition to the crisis in the Goma region, there are two areas of rebel activity in Congo which have not hit the news: the Dungu area in the north, where the Lord's Resist?ance Army has attacked villages and abducted adults and children . . . [and] close to Bunia, where a new militia group emerged in late Sep?tember, and displaced many people from their homes."

The Congolese Catholic Bishops' Conference issued a plea to the Vatican, talking of the "silent geno?cide" taking place. It also criticised the lack of action by the UN peace?keepers.

"The great massacres of the popula?tion, the planned extermina?tion of the youth, the systematic robberies used as a weapon of war . . . a cruelty and exceptional viol?ence is once again being unleashed upon the local people, who only ask that they can live in a decent manner in their homeland. Who is willing to take an interest in this situation?"

I checked with a few other sources, such as World Vision. Keep reading for more about the situation on the ground.

In a Nov. 18, 2008, press briefing, World Vision reports that child malnutrition is growing much worse:

Goma, Eastern DRC, November 18, 2008 - The number of children suffering from severe malnutrition in eastern Congo is rising dramatically as a result of the increased conflict, warns humanitarian agency World Vision. In one hard-hit area, World Vision estimates the number of children under the age of five suffering from malnutrition has increased ten-fold.

Before the conflict, nutrition experts were admitting one or two malnourished children per day at the World Vision nutrition center in Rwanguba, east of Rutshuru. Since fighting devastated the rebel-held territory near Rutshuru, between eight and ten children have been arriving every day.

"The cause of malnutrition used to be poverty," said Suzanne Kahamba, a local nurse working at the clinic. "But now so many people are displaced, they don't have land to grow crops. The conflict has intensified the effects of poverty ten times over and the situation has become dire."

Posted by Tim Morgan at November 22, 2008 7:51PM | Comments (0)

Bob Jones University of Greenville, South Carolina, issued an online statement Thursday apologizing for "racially hurtful" practices of its past, including prohibiting married African American students until 1971 and unmarried African American students until 1975, and banning interracial dating until 2000.

The letter stated that BJU's former policies were "shaped more directly by that [segregationist] ethos than by the principles and precepts of the Scriptures." "In so doing," the letter said, "we failed to accurately represent the Lord and to fulfill the commandment to love others as ourselves. For these failures we are profoundly sorry."

The statement came after an online effort, Please Reconcile, gathered over 500 signatories for an "Open Letter to Bob Jones University," which was sent to President Stephen Jones yesterday. Please Reconcile began in March 2008 "solely to defend efforts to request a statement of regret and reconciliation from the current administration and board." The site's coordinators, three alumni, claim that 92 percent of the letter's signatories were other former students. The group's Facebook page was only open to students, faculty, staff, and administration of the past and present.

Regarding Please Reconcile's efforts, alumnus Michael Gembola told Christianity Today, "The petition was actually nicely worded - other similar attempts have been sidelined by emotional language and spitefulness. This one showed actual care for the university."

Bob Jones III announced the school was dropping its interracial-dating ban on Larry King Live in March 2000. The decision came after President Bush received heavy criticism for making an appearance on campus during the 2000 presidential race.

President Stephen Jones is the great-grandson of evangelist Bob Jones Sr., who established the fundamentalist college in 1927 as a "thoroughly Christian school to train America's youth." The school's current enrollment is about 5,000.

Posted by Katelyn Beaty at November 21, 2008 2:49PM | Comments (23)

Last year, I blogged about an effort to amend the doctrinal basis of the Evangelical Theological Society. Several members felt that the organization's statement--which is limited to biblical inerrancy and the Trinity--did not sufficiently safeguard the organization's evangelical identity. The theologians (chiefly Ray Van Neste and Denny Burk) had proposed that the statement of belief used by the U.K.'s Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship be adopted instead.

The effort failed at today's ETS business meeting, I'm told, by at least a 2-to-1 margin, with the executive committee unanimously opposing the amendment.

Posted by Ted Olsen at November 21, 2008 1:04PM | Comments (12)

Last March I wrote a column, "Why Evangelize the Jews?," that advocated Jewish evangelism. This sparked a frank online exchange with Rabbi Yehiel Poupko, Judaic Scholar at the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, followed by a joint appearance on National Public Radio's "Tell Me More" program. Now the Yehiel and Stan roadshow has moved to "Extension 720," a two-hour discussion program on WGN-AM, hosted by the legendary Dr. Milt Rosenberg (who, not incidentally, this week was awarded the 2008 National Humanities Medal by President Bush). To go to the podcast of our exchange, which occurred on Wednesday, November 19th, click here.

Posted by Stan Guthrie at November 21, 2008 8:59AM | Comments (4)

Claudia Castillo, whose lungs had been ravaged by tuberculosis, has a new trachea. She made it herself . . . sort of.

Doctors in Spain took stem-cells from Claudia Castillo's bone marrow and had them form a section of trachea based on the trachea of an organ donor. The scientists transplanted the 2.75-inch piece and published the results in The Lancet:

The graft immediately provided the recipient with a functional airway, improved her quality of life, and had a normal appearance and mechanical properties at 4 months. The patient had no anti-donor antibodies and was not on immunosuppressive drugs.

The results show that we can produce a cellular, tissue-engineered airway with mechanical properties that allow normal functioning, and which is free from the risks of rejection.

Castillo is the first person to have an engineered trachea transplant, The Guardian says. She has had her new windpipe for several months without immunosuppressants - a breakthrough in surgery.

Besides giving hope to those who need transplants, Castillo's case is also important to the debate over whether to allow stem-cell research which destroys embryos.

"Engineering new tissues and organs from stem cells has long been a goal of researchers, because it would help overcome a chronic shortage of donor organs." NPR says. "But controversies over the source of stem cells have slowed research in the United States."

However the transplant, rather than highlighting limitations, is another victory for ethical (and legal) stem-cell research. In its Q&A on stem-cells, CNN says "In the past, because adult stem cells were considered stuck in their ways, the focus had been on embryonic cells but now scientists and doctors will be wanting to see if adult cells can be used to treat a wider range of conditions."

Posted by Susan Wunderink at November 20, 2008 12:32PM | Comments (1)

Westmont President Gayle Beebe released a statement yesterday that said no Westmont students were to blame for starting the California fire that destroyed more than 200 homes and several campus buildings.

Ten men and women, ranging in age from 18 to 22, built a bonfire Wednesday night to warm themselves, authorities told the Los Angeles Times. Other schools in Santa Barbara include the Brooks Institute of Photography, Santa Barbara City College, and the University of California Santa Barbara.

The Westmont Horizon posted Beebe's statement on its liveblog.

On Wednesday afternoon at approximately 2:45 p.m., Drew Sugars, the public information officer for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office officially informed the college that no current Westmont students were present nor in anyway involved with this tragic incident.

It should be noted that at this point, the group of individuals responsible for starting the fire are under the jurisdiction of law enforcement authorities. Again, no current Westmont students were involved with this incident.

Posted by Sarah Pulliam Bailey at November 20, 2008 8:45AM | Comments (0)

eHarmony will create a new website for gays and lesbians as part of a settlement with a gay man in New Jersey, Reuters reports.

The company will launch the new same-sex dating site called "Compatible Partners," a dating service with "male seeking a male" or "female seeking a female" options.

The settlement was the result of a discrimination complaint filed by Eric McKinley against eHarmony in 2005, which will be dismissed under the settlement agreement.

eHarmony was founded in 2000 by evangelical Christian Dr. Neil Clark Warren and had ties with the influential religious conservative group Focus on the Family.

Posted by Sarah Pulliam Bailey at November 19, 2008 5:00PM | Comments (40)

The fire that swept through Westmont College last week was started by a bonfire created by students, authorities told the Los Angeles Times.

Ten men and women, ranging in age from 18 to 22, built a bonfire Wednesday night to warm themselves. Catherine Saillant and Jean Merl write that the students told fire investigators that they thought the bonfire was out when they left early Thursday morning.

Brown declined to identify any of the men and women involved, saying that the matter was still under investigation. However, he said they all lived locally and attended the same school. He declined to say which one.

Westmont College, a Christian university with 1,200 students, sits immediately below the mountain ridge where the Teahouse is located. But Brown would not confirm or deny that students from the private campus were involved.

The group could face charges of negligence or recklessness with fire, he said. It will be up to the district attorney's office to decide what, if any, criminal charges will be filed once the investigation is completed, Brown said.

Investigators learned about the group's late-night outing from an anonymous tipster who called a fire hotline, Brown said.

The fire destroyed 210 homes, damaged nine others, and at least 25 people were injured, three of them with burns in Santa Barbara County.

Nancy Phinney, a Westmont spokeswoman, said the college did not think that any of its students were involved. The school lost several buildings and 14 faculty homes in the fire.

"We have been working closely and cooperating fully with fire officials and at no point has anyone said that any of our students have been implicated," Phinney said.

At Westmont, the fire destroyed three academic buildings, more than 30 dorm rooms, and 14 of the 41 college-owned faculty houses.

Posted by Sarah Pulliam Bailey at November 19, 2008 8:44AM | Comments (4)

Focus on the Family will stop publishing four of its eight magazines, the ministry told Religion News Service.

The ministry, founded by James Dobson, announced earlier this week that it will cut around 200 positions on it's staff of about 1,150.

Adelle M. Banks writes:

The print edition of "Plugged In," an entertainment review guide for parents, will continue through its online version, Schneeberger said. Three other publications, Breakaway, Brio, and Brio and Beyond, which were aimed at teenagers, will be revamped into online content.

"The content that was found in those publications will still be available online, but it will be targeted not at teens but at parents," he said.

One of the four remaining magazines, Citizen, will be reduced from 12 issues to 10 issues a year. Earlier this fall, the ministry cut 46 other staff positions by outsourcing the department that filled orders and distributed books.

Posted by Sarah Pulliam Bailey at November 19, 2008 8:44AM | Comments (10)

Just days after Oral Roberts University announced that it will give former president Richard Roberts more than $440,000 in severance pay, the Tulsa school said it will be eliminating 100 jobs, about 10% of its workforce, in January 2009.

"Like any business, a university cannot spend more revenue than it collects," wrote board chair Mart Green and interim president Ralph Fagin in a letter to the ORU family. "We have a responsibility to all of you to be good stewards of our resources."

School officials have not decided which jobs to cut, but say former employees will remain on the payroll for 60 days and be given job placement support. ORU currently has more than 950 employees.

Last Friday, November 14, ORU announced it had officially severed ties with Roberts and will pay him $223,600 a year for the remainder of a three-term appointment that ends November 2009. The Roberts family moved off campus earlier this year but continues to work at the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association, which has been separated from the school.

The last year has brought the school several economic burdens, including a $55 million debt after Roberts's resignation last November, a lawsuit from two former professors, settled in October for an undisclosed amount, and several long-needed maintenance projects on campus, funded mainly by Hobby Lobby heir Green's $70 million gift. The school remains $17 million in debt.

While the larger U.S. economic downturn is certainly a factor in ORU's decision to cut jobs, school spokesman Jeremy Burton told CT that the decision was mainly about paying off that debt.

"One of our issues is deficit. . . . You can't spend more than you take in," Burton said. "We are doing this in light of everything that's going on economically. That affects everything across the board. But that is not the main reason."

See Christianity Today's prior coverage of ORU:
"Healing ORU" | $70 million and Mart Green's business acumen are repairing a scandal-scarred school. (Sept. 2008)

"Tulsa Dustup" | Lawsuit charges ORU president and his wife with fiscal, moral improprieties. (Dec. 2007)

Posted by Katelyn Beaty at November 18, 2008 12:22PM | Comments (2)

In light of tightening financial times, and the heightened scrutiny of household spending that follows, some churches are making it easier for congregants to follow the money. Waterfront Community Church in Schaumburg, Illinois, gives 100% of its offerings each week to local households identified by a partnering Christian agency. This practice allows a church member, in pastor Jim Semradek's words, to "see a face on the other side that you're blessing."

How does the church take care of its own operating costs? Eight sponsors cover rent and salaries, freeing it to use all of its offering in this way. The model is an attempt to restore trust in local churches and return mission to the core of their identity. Its mission-minded sponsors believe freeing Waterfront from concerns about its own expenses does just that.

Waterfront is, of course, not alone among local churches experimenting with new budgetary models as it rethinks mission.

Posted by Derek Keefe at November 18, 2008 8:08AM | Comments (4)

Focus on the Family will drop 202 positions - about 15 percent of its staff - in the coming weeks, the Colorado Springs Gazette reports.

The organization will layoff 149 employees and eliminate 53 vacant positions on its staff of about 1,200 people. Its budget will be reduced from $160 million this year to $138 million in 2009, Bill Reed writes.

Barb Cotter, an editor at the Gazette, wants to know if the organization could have saved money had it not donated $500,000-plus donation to Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage. "It all has to do with the division between Focus and its political arm, Focus on the Family Action, and a host of IRS and nonprofit rules that come into play," she writes.

The Gazette wrote earlier that this comes on the heels of Focus' announcement in October that 46 employees would be reassigned or laid off next year.

The Colorado Independent writes that the organization employed more than 1,500 people in 1991. But in 2006, the ministry cut nearly 30 positions and did not fill 83 positions, and in 2007, it dropped another 30 positions. In 2003, the ministry's budget was about $125 million and it employed about 1,300 people.

Posted by Sarah Pulliam Bailey at November 17, 2008 3:40PM | Comments (11)

A new alliance for North American Anglicans will have an important benchmark event in Wheaton, Illinois, on Wed., Dec. 3.

See below for the full press statement.

It's fascinating to see that both the Billy Graham Center and Wheaton's Evangelical Free church will both serve as venues for this meeting of the Common Cause Partnership, the organization that has pooled resources for conservatives, who report 100,000 Anglicans as participants in their movement.

I will update this entry with reactions in a day or two.

ANGLICAN LEADERS SEEK TO UNITE NORTH AMERICAN CHURCHES:

Draft Constitution to be Unveiled, Jerusalem Declaration Signed at Dec. 3 Chicago Gathering

WHEATON, IL, Nov. 14 -- Leaders of the Common Cause Partnership, a federation of more than 100,000 Anglican Christians in North America, will release to the public on the evening of Dec. 3 the draft constitution of an emerging Anglican C?hurch in North America, formally subscribe to the Jerusalem Declaration of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) and affirm the GAFCON Statement on the Global Anglican Future at an evening worship celebration in suburban Chicago.

This historic event comes in the wake of GAFCON held in Israel last June with leaders from more than one-half of the world's 77 million Anglicans. At the close of that gathering, Anglican leaders released the Jerusalem Declaration and the GAFCON Statement on the Global Anglican Future, which outlined their Christian beliefs and goals to reform, heal and revitalize the Anglican Communion worldwide.

"One conclusion of the Global Anglican Future Conference held in Jerusalem last June was that the time for the recognition of a new Anglican body in North America had arrived," observed Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh, moderator of Common Cause Partnership. "The public release of our draft constitution is an important concrete step toward the goal of a biblical, missionary and united Anglican Church in North America."

Provinces, dioceses and parishes around the world have been making formal decisions to support the Jerusalem Declaration and the GAFCON Statement on the Global Anglican Future since its release this summer. Leading bishops and representatives of the North American Common Cause Partnership will officially subscribe to the Declaration and affirm the Statement at the public worship service at Wheaton Evangelical Free Church in Wheaton, IL at 7:30 p.m. CST on December 3. All Anglicans in attendance will also be given an opportunity to individually subscribe to the Declaration and affirm the Statement.

"We enthusiastically issue a public invitation to all fellow Christians in hopes that they will witness, participate in and celebrate our unity and common mission," Bishop Duncan added.

Prior to the evening service, at 2 p.m. CST earlier on Dec. 3, a reception will be held at the Billy Graham Center in Wheaton to give thanks and learn about the mission of Christ Awakening. Rooted among Anglicans, Christ Awakenings are quickly spreading to the larger Christian community. The first Christ Awakening was held in September 2007 in Chicago. Since then, the grassroots movement of Christ Awakenings has held events in Vancouver, Ohio and New England to call Christians to work together, in unity, partnering for mission worldwide. After the reception, a media briefing with Common Cause leaders will follow at 5:30 p.m. CST, addressing the significance of the historic worship celebration that evening.

The Common Cause Partnership is a federation of Anglican Christians that links together eight Anglican jurisdictions and organizations in North America, including the American Anglican Council, the Anglican Coalition in Canada, the Anglican Communion Network, the Anglican Mission in the Americas, the Anglican Network in Canada, the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, Forward in Faith North America, the Reformed Episcopal Church, and the bishops and congregations linked with Kenya, Uganda, and South America's Southern Cone. Together they represent more than 100,000 Anglican Christians worshiping each Sunday in the United States and Canada.

Posted by Tim Morgan at November 17, 2008 9:46AM | Comments (15)

For the last 11 months, Christians in India's Orissa state and elsewhere have been the objects of hateful persecution. A report by internationnal human-rights investigators, lays out the mistreatment and abuse in unsettling detail.

-

In Orissa State, 65 identified people have been killed and 85 are still unaccounted for.
Among those killed were one man buried alive near the village of Rudangla; several
people burnt to death and others cut into pieces.
- 117 churches of all Christian denominations destroyed. Not a single Hindu temple has
been destroyed – despite allegations of retaliation by Christians.
- Approximately 5,000 homes destroyed.
- An unspecified number of Christian businesses destroyed, with the loss of livelihood for
their owners.
- 54,000 people displaced from their homes, forced to take shelter in 14 State-sponsored
Relief Camps in Kandhamal District; together with many hundreds living in non-State
camps, including 2 ‘camps’ in densely overcrowded buildings in Cuttsack town.
4
- It is estimated that about 20,000 are still living in the jungle or have fled to big cities.
Some may be living with relatives elsewhere.
- In addition to the violence in Kandhamal District, 2 other Districts, Japati and Baragras
District, have also experienced similar atrocities, including killings, looting and burning
of churches and homes. 2 Relief camps have been established for approximately 2,700
people who have had to flee their homes.

Click here for the full report. Warning: Some of the descriptions are disturbing. See CT's November editorial here.

Posted by Stan Guthrie at November 14, 2008 2:10PM | Comments (4)

California fires ripped through Westmont College last night, destroying several buildings at the Christian liberal arts college.

The flames destroyed several buildings that house the physics and psychology departments, a dormitory and at least one faculty home, college spokesman Scott Craig told the Associated Press.

An automated message on the college's switchboard says, "Westmont College has suffered major damage due to a wild man fire, but all students and employees are safe. All major campus buildings are unscathed, but we did lose 8 smaller buildings and 14 faculty homes in the adjacent development." Classes are canceled today, but the college hopes to resume on Monday.

The fire burned around 1,500 acres and destroyed at least 80 homes in the surrounding neighborhood, according to the Los Angeles Times. The fire is not yet extinguished, but authorities believe they have contained it.

The AP reports:

Hundreds of students fled to a gym, where they spent the night sleeping on the floor. Some stood in groups praying, others sobbed openly and comforted each other.

Beth Lazor, 18, said she was in her dorm when the alarm went off. She said she only had time to grab her laptop, phone, a teddy bear and a debit card before fleeing the burning building.

The college's website and student newspaper website are currently down, but Ray Ford has photos of the fire on his site.

The Chronicle of Higher Education writes that last night, the website listed structures partially or completed destroyed as including "the Physics Building, the old math building, Bauder Hall, and the Quonset huts."

The college lost electricity after a natural-gas line broke, interrupting the fuel supply for the college's generators. The Red Cross brought cots and blankets to the gym for people who wanted to remain there, but students and others who wanted to leave the campus were being allowed to depart.

Update: Westmont's student newspaper, The Horizon, is up and running, and Robert Gutierrez is liveblogging.

Posted by Sarah Pulliam Bailey at November 14, 2008 8:51AM | Comments (7)

USA Today has a nice story today on Stephen Curry, who wowed the nation in March by taking tiny Davidson College to the Elite Eight of the NCAA basketball tournament.

The piece, titled "Just a regular man on campus," not only recounts Curry's amazing run in the NCAAs, when he averaged 32 points per game, but also notes that "success hasn't spoiled him" and that "he's an unassuming 20-year-old in oversized sweathshirts and jeans known for getting involved in campus activities."

All well and good, but what the story fails to mention is that Curry comes from a strong Christian home, attended a Christian high school, and has a vibrant faith himself -- the likely reason he's such a humble young man who is always finding ways to help out his fellow collegians.

Read more about Curry's faith in this recent story from Sports Illustrated.

Posted by Mark Moring at November 13, 2008 11:34AM | Comments (2)

New Yorkers today found a special copy of The New York Times today -- from the future! The July 4, 2009, edition shouts: "Iraq War Ends" along with headlines like "Court Indicts Bush on High Treason Charge," "All Public Universities To Be Free," "
"New York Bike Path System Expanded Dramatically," and "Maximum Wage Law Passes Congress." It's kind of like the Focus on the Family Action letter from 2012, only liberal, happy, and less bloody. (Gawker says it's the work of The Yes Men, a liberal prankster group.)

A bit of an odd note was struck, however, but this item: "Evangelicals Open Homes to Refugees: Up to a million Iraqi exiles -- nearly half the total -- will find sanctuary in Christians homes throughout the U.S., vows the National Association of Evangelicals. Other denominations are expected to follow suit."

Get it? Evangelicals caring about refugees -- especially Iraqi refugees -- is about as likely as a 100% car recall! Tee hee.

Let's put aside for a moment the fact that the NAE is not a denomination but a network that includes a number of denominations, among other groups. The parodists seem a bit in the dark about just how much personal advocacy and public policy work the NAE has done on refugee settlement (including and especially Iraq refugees since the beginning of the invasion). But it's not just public policy work. World Relief, launched by the NAE in 1944, has been working with churches to house, settle, and welcome refugees since 1979. It's not close to a million refugees yet (it works with about 10,000 refugees a year), and it's generally settling refugees in their own homes rather than in church members' homes. But church members are indeed giving sacrificially to help refugees.

Oh, and as for "other denominations expected to follow suit"? Yep, yep, yep, and yep.

Joke's on you, Yes Men. The future is not yet fully realized, but it's already here.

Posted by Ted Olsen at November 12, 2008 11:17AM | Comments (6)

MTV music video director Darren Doane and his team stalked Christopher Hitchens and Douglas Wilson during their debates tour last week.

Here's the recently released trailer:

Hitchens and Wilson are promoting their book, Is Christianity Good for the World?, which began as a debate on Christianity Today's website.

Wilson's son, Nate Wilson, wrote a three pieces for Christianity Today about the tour. The first day's dispatch focused on enemies, the second on the marvels of reality, and the third about a bar.

David Sessions and Alisa Harris, editors for the online Patrol magazine, interviewed Hitchens and Wilson on their tour.

PatrolTV: Christopher Hitchens & Douglas Wilson from Patrol Magazine on Vimeo.

Peter King took these photos on the tour.

Posted by Sarah Pulliam Bailey at November 12, 2008 11:03AM | Comments (0)

Earlier today, an e-mail from National Association of Evangelicals president Leith Anderson called our attention to renewed conflict and an exacerbated humanitarian crisis in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire).

The situation there "in dire need of our attention," wrote Anderson. "Violence has forced more than 250,000 to flee their homes in the last two months alone." In the past decade, approximately 5 million have died as a result of the violence.

Similar appeals have appeared from a variety of NGOs, including Mercy Corps and the International Rescue Committee.

Anderson's message focused on the resources provided by World Relief (a subsidiary of the National Association of Evangelicals and - full disclosure - the employer of Barbara Galli, wife of CT Senior Managing Editor Mark Galli). World Relief has posted a video appeal from Lynne Hybels, advocate for global engagement at Willow Creek Community Church, South Barrington, Illinois.

Anderson is urging evangelical churches to show Hybels's passionate video over the next few weeks and to encourage their members to respond to the crisis in the DRC.

Consider using World Relief's resources (http://community.wr.org/Page.aspx?pid=1274) to publicize the crisis in your church. There is even an downloadable full-color bulletin insert.

News junkies will want to visit the page where the International Rescue Committee posts regular news updates on the DRC conflict. Two IRC staff were the victims of armed attack in the past week, and a World Relief staff member was killed.

Past CT coverage of the DRC violence includes this 2006 extended report by African correspondent Isaac Phiri.

Posted by David Neff at November 11, 2008 2:48PM | Comments (0)

J.R.R. Tolkien once told C.S. Lewis, "Christianity works on us like any other myth, with the difference that it is actually true."

What Tolkien didn't tell Lewis was that myths also make the best movies . . . whether the myths are true or not. There is a better, even a best, way to make a film, and it starts with a great myth -- and not with an agenda.

I just read a wonderful essay by Dwight Longenecker (posted at Spero News) on this very topic, reiterating the things many of us already know to be true . . . but it's good to read the occasional reminder:

Story. Is. Everything.

Agenda is always secondary at best. Telling a great story matters most.

As Longenecker notes, "Titillation, pyrotechnics and gore only entertain [audiences] so long. If the film isn't driven by a powerful and compelling story line, even the most immature audience will yawn."

The essay notes that Hollywood story consultant Christopher Vogler has "outlined the formula for a good story . . . [b]asing his ideas on the work of the mythologist Joseph Campbell . . . a model which is as old as human communication itself. It is a structure which is woven through all the great myths, fairy tales, sagas and folk tales of humanity in every culture and every age."

He illustrates how this pattern is evident in Scripture, where "the spiritual journey requires a departure from our comfort zone to step out into a world of unknown realities. . . . This story line is reflected in all the Old Testament sagas. Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Joseph, and Joshua all have to step out in faith and leave their old world to follow God's promise."

Even Jesus had to step out of the comforts of heaven to walk among us, arguably the most powerful mythic story of all time -- a true myth.

Author Longenecker says that a prime example of myth-telling comes in Disney's animated The Jungle Book , which he recently watched with his young children. At the climax, Baloo the Bear sacrifices his life to save Mowgli, and as he lies seemingly dead, Bagheera the panther quotes Scripture: "No greater love has any man than he lay down his life for his friends." Of course, Baloo was faking his death, and then winks and wakes up.

Writes Longenecker, "Professional theologians and high brow Christians may throw up their hands in horror at such a trivialisation of theology, but when Baloo woke up my four-year-old said, 'That's what Jesus did.'"

Myth as truth. Truth as myth. A formula for great stories, and great movies.

For the latest coverage on films, check out Christianity Today Movies.

Posted by Mark Moring at November 11, 2008 1:29PM | Comments (2)

Old news is not interesting. Unless it keeps repeating itself. And then, like a defective CD that keeps sticking at the same place, it's time to do something.

An article from the Minneapolis Star Tribune announces:

Here's the steeple; open the door, and where are the young people?
A survey finds that many youths draw a line between being spiritual and participating in an organized religion.

The story is based on the release of a survey conducted by the Minneapolis-based Search Institute, in which nearly 7,000 people were queried about their attitudes towards religion and spirituality.

"Spirituality is bigger than religion," said Peter Benson a co-directors of the Institute's Center for Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence. "One of the things we have to focus on now is disentangling spiritual development from religious development."

And this Colorado Springs, in a story about a new congregation called Amplify Church:

The church also ignores traditional Christian rites and rituals in favor of an ultracasual atmosphere. It's just young adults with Bibles, hanging out to rap about their faith.

"Churches have become corporations," [The Rev. Dan] MacFadyen said. "We are trying to take away the corporate baggage and be real."

Being real apparently amounts to meeting in a bar, sitting "at bar tables in near darkness while blinking lights bathed the musicians in bright hues," "where Miller Lite and Budweiser posters, not crosses, hang on the walls," and where the pastor is "forgoing suit and tie in favor of worn jeans, sandals and T-shirt."

Again, not much new or creative here, and yet it speaks to an ongoing distrust among many people (and not just youth) of the church. Then again, we know from other stories, there is a counter-movement towards traditional churches with rich and even complex liturgies.

Actually both movements--away from mere religion and toward liturgy--may be driven by the same thing, something the Minneapolis survey tries to quantify: "The good news for faith communities is that 93 percent of the young people surveyed believe there is a spiritual aspect to life."

Despite rumors to the contrary, we don't live in a secular age. People remain hungry to know God. To me it is silliness to abandon the rich history and tradition of the church. At the same time, it is foolishness for churches to carp at the shallowness of so much spiritual searching.

Posted by Mark Galli at November 11, 2008 9:53AM | Comments (11)

... some 71 per cent of those surveyed by Faithbook, a new multifaith page on Facebook, believe that a spiritual recession is more worrying than a material recession. And 80 per cent do not see the financial situation as a crisis but an economic watershed with moral and social opportunities.

So says an article in the Times Online: "Fears written on the pages of Faithbook."

Naturally, people who sign up for Faithbook are going to be more sensitive to moral and spiritual trends. But these people have economic woes as well as anyone else. And it's not blinded them to the deeper realities of what is going on right now.

It's a good reminder for evangelicals--we were made for times such as these, when people are groping for answers that transcend. And just at the moment we cannot afford the time or money to reach out to them--well, that's just the time when people may be most responsive to Jesus Christ.

What is your church doing to reach out at this time? We'd love to hear about it.

Posted by Mark Galli at November 10, 2008 4:39PM | Comments (1)

As expected, the Great Exodus out of the Episcopal Church continues. (See below for a press statement from the Diocese of Quincy, Illinois.) They join the dioceses of San Joaquin and Pittsburgh.

The Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas, will have its annual convention this coming weekend. Considering that on the diocesan website there is an article, "10 Reasons Why Now is the Time to Realign," you can catch the drift here.

Fort Worth Episcopalians are quite likely to vote to leave TEC (The Episcopal Church) for the second time, finalizing a vote from last year.

Here's what Bishop Iker had to say in Reason #7:

7. At this time there is nothing in the Constitution or Canons of TEC that prevents a Diocese from leaving. Oh, I know that General Convention officials claim that dioceses cannot leave TEC, but you will not find that anywhere in the Constitution and Canons as they presently stand. So we have this window of opportunity to do what we need to do, for you can be sure that the next General Convention will close off this option by adopting amendments that will make it even more difficult to separate in the future.

TEC will meet in General Convention next summer (July 2009 in Anheim, California) and indeed there is a developing effort to close and lock tight the ability of any other diocese to depart via majority vote of their convention.

Then, there is another effort to repeal Resolution B-033, which officially expects TEC leaders to refrain from same-sex rites and consecration of non-celibate bishops who are gay. Here's a word or two from WAKE UP:

"WAKE UP is a coalition of concerned Episcopalians who seek a Full Inclusion Church. We came into being during the summer of 2006, following the General Convention of the Episcopal Church. While pleased at the election of Katharine Jefferts Schori as Presiding Bishop, we experienced the passage of Resolution B-033 as a betrayal of the Church's professed acceptance of lesbian and gay Christians as full members of the Body of Christ. We also view with alarm the attempts of some, both within and outside the Episcopal Church, to move us in a direction of exclusion, intolerance, and dogmatic 'purity codes' that have never been part of the Anglican heritage. Our primary purpose is to TAKE ACTION to STOP THE APPEASEMENT of theological bullies, and protect the Anglican heritage of inclusion and openness that has been passed down to us. We value the unity of the Anglican Communion, but not at the price of appeasement and injustice."

So contrary to the view among some leaders that "the worst is over," you can expect the political struggle, the property fight, and the theological battle to persist throughout much of 2009.

Sure feels like a war of attrition to me.

Continue for the full press statement from Quincy:

PRESS STATEMENT
Diocese of Quincy Realigns With South American Province

The Annual Synod of the Diocese of Quincy's meeting November 7-8 in Quincy, Illinois, has voted by strong margins to realign itself with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, breaking its ties with The Episcopal Church in the US. On two key votes more than ? of the clergy and lay deputies voted in favor of the realignment.

The move came after several years of prayer and discernment about the diocese's relationship with The Episcopal Church. Many in the Quincy Diocese, both clergy and lay people, have been at odds with the national leadership and other dioceses over the authority of the Bible, church order and discipline, and the church's moral standards and teaching on Christian marriage.

On the vote to disaffiliate from the General Convention of the Episcopal Church, 75% of the clergy and 82% of the lay deputies voted in favor. On the subsequent vote to realign the diocese with the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone the vote in favor was 92% in the clergy order and 87% in the lay order.

"This decision was not made lightly," said Fr. John Spencer, press officer for the diocese. "We have talked and prayed about this for a very long time. But we take our relationship to the Anglican Communion very seriously. Since 2003, over half the Provinces of the Anglican Communion have been in a state of broken Communion with The Episcopal Church. By realigning with the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone, we are now back in full communion with the majority of over 75 million Anglicans around the world."

Canon Ed den Blaauwen, incoming President of the Standing Committee, said the focus of the diocese will remain on mission. "Our churches and our diocese will continue in mission and ministry locally and around the world. We feel much at home under the oversight of Archbishop Gregory Venables, Primate of the Southern Cone, who has warmly welcomed us into affiliation with that Province," den Blaauwen said. "We are once again back in full fellowship with our brother and sister Anglicans."

Shortly after the votes were taken, Canon den Blaauwen, who acted as chairman for the Synod, read a letter from Archbishop Venables welcoming Quincy as a member of the Province of the Southern Cone.

Bishop Keith Ackerman who retired from leadership of the diocese on November 1, spoke to the gathering Friday afternoon just before the synod convened. Quoting the Epistle of Jude, he encouraged them to remain faithful to the Gospel of Christ and the historic faith of the Christian Church as they considered the momentous decisions before them.

"While the votes show there was very strong support for this decision," Fr. Spencer said, "we realize this was not a unanimous decision." By a separate action, the synod made provision for a nine months grace period during which a congregation or member of the clergy might consider withdrawing from the diocese in order to stay in the Episcopal Church. "It is a matter of allowing everyone to follow their consciences in these very difficult times, without recrimination," Spencer said.

Posted by Tim Morgan at November 10, 2008 3:03PM | Comments (6)

The Board of Emergent Village announced a new direction for the network last Thursday, which includes the decision "to streamline, decentralize, and reduce expenses by discontinuing the role of National Coordinator."

This move comes in response to feedback from more than 2,000 friends of Emergent given in a survey sent out this past summer. Thursday's announcement reports that "nearly everyone [survey respondents] agreed that emergent is a grass-roots relational network" and that friends of Emergent are wary of "institutionalization" -- becoming "another large nonprofit religious organization building a big budget and staff."

Jones will continue in his role of National Coordinator on a part-time basis through the end of the year and will, according the announcement, "stay actively involved as a passionate participant in this conversation and friendship."

More to come.

Posted by Derek Keefe at November 3, 2008 7:54AM | Comments (8)