Kay Warren said today that her husband Rick Warren has almost recovered from his eye injury. She said that he is able to drive and hasn't been in pain since Friday. "His eyes are just a little fuzzy," she said.

Last week, Rick was pruning in his garden when he got sap from a plant in his eyes. He had posted some updates on Twitter but has not resumed posting updates.

"The amount of agony was so extreme that I could not believe his eyes were not destroyed," Kay said on the phone. "He’s definitely better and almost completely back to normal."

Editor's note: This post has been corrected to fix a missing word.

Rick Warren just tweeted: My eyes were severely burned by a toxic poison.Hospitalized Mon.Excruciating pain.Now home.Pray my sight loss is restored

Update (11 a.m. Central):

Warren was pruning a firestick plant in his yard on Monday when he got some of the sap from the plant on his hands, according to his publicist, A. Larry Ross. "He went to wipe his brow and immediately experienced excruciating pain in both eyes," Ross said. "His wife came running out, and it was so painful, he couldn’t articulate what happened."

His wife Kay called 911, and an emergency vehicle transferred him to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo where he saw an eye specialist. Warren was kept overnight and released Tuesday.

He is wearing protective contact lenses and using ointment, and doctors expect a full recovery, Ross said. Ross said that Warren did not lose his eyesight, but was unable to open his eyes. "Thankfully, he’s seeing well enough to be able to tweet," he said.

After his initial tweet, Warren tweeted: Thank you for prayers for my eyes. Another doctor visit this PM. May God use this pain for His Glory. Rom.8:28

Last year, Warren was working on a book called The Hope You Need (Zondervan), delayed it so he could write the curriculum for his church membership program. Amazon lists the release date for The Hope You Need on November 16, but Ross was unsure when it will be released.

Update (9 p.m. Central): Tonight, Warren posted his own account of the incident on Saddleback's blog. Earlier this afternoon, he tweeted: A doctor put protective contacts on my corneas as bandages during the healing. I am NOT blind. Thank you.

Amid ongoing debate over the vitality or usefulness of denominations today, CT has observed that many denominational meetings of late have debated the merits of reinforcing denominational distinctives vs. loosening them in favor of focusing on evangelism.

CT columnist Mollie Ziegler Hemingway sent a brief report on the latest case study, this time at the ongoing Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod convention:

The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS) elected as its new president the leader of the church’s World Relief and Human Care division. Matthew Harrison received 54 percent of the vote, defeating incumbent Gerald Kieschnick, who received 45 percent of the vote in his third re-election attempt.

The 2.3-million member LCMS is holding its triennial convention in Houston, where over 1,200 delegates are electing new officers and debating whether to restructure the synod.

While the conservative denomination does not face conflict over many hot-button cultural issues, the election of Harrison represents a shift from the Kieschnick administration’s support of evangelical programs and style to a more traditional Lutheran identity. While 54 percent – 50 votes more than the 593 votes needed to win – was not a huge mandate numerically, Harrison was elected on the first ballot at a convention that saw most issues narrowly won after lengthy debate.

“I realize this is a tumultuous change in the life of our synod,” Harrison said in his acceptance speech immediately after the vote. He asked delegates for forgiveness and prayers as he prepares to lead the synod through a new restructuring that streamlines operations at the national headquarters.

The Kieschnick administration, which served for the past nine years, encouraged congregations to adopt praise teams, coffee house worship and small group ministries. It had also overseen the cancellation of Issues, Etc., the synod’s only nationally syndicated broadcast ministry. Harrison’s first post-election interview was with the program, which re-launched outside the denominational structure.

Harrison, leader of the LCMS mercy arm and possessing multiple degrees from the denomination’s Concordia Theological Seminary, was also the preferred candidate of those in the church body that favor a return to traditional Lutheran identity of liturgical preaching, hymns that teach doctrine, and the placement of ordained missionaries overseas.

“There was a great deal of division on the direction things were going. Harrison has an opportunity, in a pastoral way, to bring back unity in [the LCMS] so that we can have stronger service in missions and outreach of the gospel,” said delegate Jeffrey Horn from Garrett, Indiana.

Harrison’s 643 votes yielded the largest margin of victory in a synodical presidential election since 1998.

Lately we've been hearing about a new round of tech tools for believers and nonbelievers alike.

The tech world was recently left buzzing about Apple chief Steve Jobs' pledge to keep porn off of the iPhone and the iPad. Now, GodBlock claims to allow parents with Windows XP, Vista, and Mac OS X to "protect their kids from the often violent, sexual, and psychologically harmful material in many holy texts, and from being indoctrinated into any religion before they are of the age to make such decisions." MSNBC has pointed out that the whole thing may be a joke--no one has yet been able to actually download the software.

Meanwhile, on the iPhone and iPad, the New York Times reports that a crop of apps has sprung up to offer quick debating points to skeptics or the faithful. Sean McDowell's Fast Facts, Challenges & Tactics has tips for “reasoning with an unbeliever,” while Jason Hagen's Atheist Pocket Debater tries to poke logical holes in miracles and Scripture.

Of course, both sides of that debate may have some brand-new competition. It's been suggested that Apple itself is filling the place of faith for many, with new product roll-outs becoming quasi-religious experiences. But really, nobody got that excited about the iPhone 4, right?

A radical Islamic group which claimed responsibility for the late Sunday terrorist attacks in Uganda's capital city of Kampala bragged about having “killed many Christians,” reports The Wall Street Journal.

So far 74 people have died after Sunday’s three synchronized explosions. The attack injured at least five American missionaries. The Somalia-based militant group al-Shabaab (“The Youth”) released a statement claiming they had carried out the attacks.

The explosions hit an Ethiopian restaurant and a rugby club where crowds of people, including many expatriates, were watching the Spain-Netherlands World Cup soccer final.

"We will carry out attacks against our enemy wherever they are," said Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage, speaking for Al-Shabaab.

"We have reached our objective," said another al-Shabaab representative, who declined to be named, the Journal reports. "We killed many Christians in the enemy capital."

Various news sources are reporting that the blasts injured five or six American missionaries, according to Kathleen Kind, pastor of Christ Community United Methodist Church in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, which sent the missionaries.

"We got [to the restaurant] early so we could be near the screen," said Lori Ssebulime, who regularly hosts mission groups as an American married to a Ugandan, said to the Associated Press. "The blast happened. It was total chaos. I fell over backwards. Everything was gray."

According to the Birmingham News, another group of missionaries from Asbury United
Methodist Church in Birmingham, Alabama had come to the restaurant to watch the game.

The Birmingham group says they were only a few feet away from people who died in the attack.

"There was blood everywhere. There was blood on us," said Allen Nunnally, 23. "At first we didn't know if it was ours. But we were literally untouched. We are so blessed and so in awe of God's protection of us."

Others were not so fortunate. Nate Henn, an American worker for the nonprofit group Invisible Children, was killed at the rugby club. Henn's former youth pastor and others eulogized him. Invisible Children said: "He sacrificed his comfort to live in the humble service of God and of a better world, and his is a life to be emulated."

This is not the first time al-Shabaab has made headlines during the World Cup. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the group has killed at least five people in Somalia for watching the Cup, which they call “a Satanic act.”

According to ABC News, al-Shabaab has mainly confined their activities to Somalia before now, though Somali officials have believed them able and willing to strike elsewhere.

But both mission groups say they plan to continue working in Uganda.

“This church is very mission minded,” Rev. Kind told CNN. “Many people have a strong heart for the people of Africa. Every other year we send a mission to our sister congregation in Uganda.”

"We have big plans for this city," Nunnally says. "Right now, we're giving all glory and honor to God.”

Update (7/13/10): Archbishop Henry Orombi of the Anglican Communion's Church of Uganda has released a statement in which he urged Uganda to be a "good neighbor" to Somalia despite the recent attacks.

"I call upon each one of us to desist from anger and revenge; this will only perpetuate the pain we already feel," Orombi said. "Revenge is not a solution and neither is a sectarian approach to this problem helpful.

"Let us instead now focus our energies on being a part of the fight against terrorism in our country....It may cost this nation a lot to try and be a good neighbor to the Somalis who are struggling to have a governable nation."

Just before breaking for lunch today, the 219th Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly approved a radically revised version of the report from its Middle East Study Committee (known in procedural code as 14-08). The vote was 558 affirmative, 119 negative, 7 abstaining. The revised report can be found here.

Jewish leaders had complained about the initial report’s anti-Israel and anti-Jewish bias. See, for example, this March 15 release from the Jewish Council on Public Affairs.

The original report also met resistance from key leaders within the PC(USA). In mid-June, eight former moderators of the General Assembly circulated a critical letter. Then, yesterday, following sustained negotiations, the eight moderators issued a public statement calling for support of the heavily revised document. As a result, General Assembly debate referred repeatedly to the work of the Holy Spirit in bridging differences.

After major surgery, the report no longer gives a general endorsement to the Palestinian Christian Kairos document, which had accused Israel of practicing apartheid. It also no longer calls for Israel to lift its blockade on Gaza but now asks Israel and Egypt to “limit their blockade to military equipment and devices and to guarantee adequate levels of food, medicine, building supplies and other humanitarian supplies…” The controversial theological and historical sections of the document are now to be received as a rationale for the recommendations, but not to be adopted as policy. In addition, an unmistakably clear recognition of “Israel’s right to exist as a sovereign nation within secure and internationally recognized borders in accordance with United Nations resolutions” has been added.

Unofficial communication reports that the American Jewish leadership is welcoming the changes in the document and considers today’s action as the foundation for future dialogue.

UPDATE: The Jewish Council on Public Affairs and 12 other Jewish organizations have now released a joint response to the PC(USA) vote.

Hours after voting in favor of permitting practicing homosexuals to serve in the clergy, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) decided to keep their definition of marriage "as being between a man and a woman," the Associated Press reports.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune wrote early this morning that the Assembly voted to allow the church two more years to study the proposal. (Corrected)

Had the proposal passed, the PCUSA could have become the largest US denomination to permit same-sex marriage, the Baptist Press reported earlier this week.

Update: James Berkley, designated pastor at Seattle's Bethel Presbyterian Church, explains the decision.

The business on marriage was byzantine and bizarre, but what happened is that both the majority and the minority reports of the special committee on same-sex unions will go out to the churches to study. None of the efforts to change constitutional language from “a man and a woman” to “two people” even got debated. They got “answered” as a batch by the actions on sending out the study. I wouldn’t have bet a plug nickel that that would have happened.

Update (9:15 a.m.): Carmen Fowler, the president of the Presbyterian Lay Committee, spoke with CT this morning.

"I would say that I was surprised," Fowler said of the decision, "and I will just openly admit that. The assembly acted very faithfully in terms of what Scripture says and in terms of the heritage of the church...that's great. It was a wonderful way for the assembly to respond to very, very controversial business that certainly many in the church would have responded to disfavorably."

Fowler attributes the surprise decision to "a genuine movement of the Spirit."

"I don't know how else to account for it," she said. "There were some very compelling arguments made on the floor of the Assembly. I would say the most compelling ones came from racial/ethnic commissioners."

Several in the General Assembly noted yesterday that Presbyterians in the Global South have strongly conservative views on homosexual issues.

"We do try to listen in the Presbyterian Church to voices other than just an Anglo culture," Fowler said. "I think that moderates are not used to hearing those voices spoken in a conservative manner."

She also points to an "incredible" ecumenical greeting from the Orthodox Reverend Siarhei Hardun of Belarus.

"He just made all the right points," Fowler said. "If you're going to be instructed at a church gathering by a faithful witness from another part of the world, it does have the power to change minds and change hearts."

The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA voted today in favor of changing ordination standards to remove language requiring ministers "live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness."

The question will now be sent to local presbyteries for further consideration. A majority of the 173 presbyteries must approve the constitutional amendment by July 10, 2011, in order for the new ordination standards to stick. (Corrected)

Efforts to remove chastity requirements from gay PCUSA clergy had met defeat last year during an eventful summer which saw the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America vote in August to allow gays and lesbians in committed relationships to serve as clergy, following the Episcopal Church's reaffirmation in July of its openness to noncelibate gay priests. Meanwhile, the United Methodist Church voted against structural changes that would have opened church membership to homosexuals.

Update (7:35 p.m.): An initial reaction from James Berkley, designated pastor at Seattle's Bethel Presbyterian Church, writing from the General Assembly in Minneapolis:

Today a slight majority of a skewed sample of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted by a narrow margin to overturn the enduring moral guidance Presbyterians have always upheld. Other than gaining attention, however, the vote changes nothing. A majority of 173 regional presbyteries must also approve the church constitutional amendment before it takes effect, and their votes will occur throughout the next twelve months.

The vote today was a disgrace, in that it drags Presbyterians away from the will of God for our sexual expression. We are to obey Scripture, not re-imagine God-defiling teachings.

The vote today was tragic, in that it offers cold comfort for those caught in sin. We are to proclaim Scripture's message of hope, not bend its message to prevailing error.

The vote today was divisive, in that once again, congregations and presbyteries, friendships and families will be strained by the process of defeating yet another General Assembly-produced error in doctrine and practice.

We profess in the Westminster Confession of Faith that "all synods or councils ... may err; and many have erred." The General Assembly erred today, but that will not be the final word. Faithful Presbyterians will not let this stand.

Update (8.54 a.m. Friday) The Presbyterian Coalition, a conservative organization within the PCUSA, released a statement in response to the decision.

We grieve the decision today by our General Assembly to recommend removing the moral standard for our ministers and officers that rightly requires fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness. The action was adopted by a narrow margin. Nevertheless, it marks a separation from the teaching of the universal Church on holiness of life.

The decision is the first step toward removing this standard for ordination from our church's constitution. The action must be approved by a majority of our presbyteries to be enacted.

Our 173 presbyteries have voted four times in 15 years on this same section of our constitution. Presbyterians in our churches and presbyteries have repeatedly stood with the Church Universal in refusing to make any change in this moral standard that is rooted in the will of God expressed in Scripture.

The Church knows its mind on this matter. This General Assembly's action continues to roil the Presbyterian Church (USA). The effect of the Assembly's actions to require presbyteries to vote again and again on the same matter is to tire and frustrate Presbyterians.

We commend those commissioners who by their witness and by their votes upheld the Church's biblical and historical standard. We pray to God for mercy as we call on our churches and presbyteries to respond with renewed determination, to see this action as another opportunity to bring a witness to God's truth by your perseverance. Let us follow the Savior's call not to be weary in well doing.

Update (9:12 a.m. Friday): Carmen Fowler, the president of the Presbyterian Lay Committee, spoke with CT this morning: "In my view, the strike-and-replace that's being proposed would eliminate, basically, the sexual standards that the church has expected of her leadership throughout all generations."

Fowler says that with a simple 53% majority, "it's not as if that's going to go to the church as a mandate from the General Assembly."

"The closer you get to the pews, the more conservative people get," Fowler said.

Yesterday afternoon, I heard that Kregel, the publisher of Unveiling Islam, had issued a statement supporting one of its top authors Ergun Caner, until recently dean of the seminary at Liberty University.

Of course, Caner, who authored Unveiling Islam with his brother, has become an enormously controversial figure due to many questions about his biography and expertise in Islam.

These questions from bloggers and the news media, including CT, caused the university to initiate its own internal investigation and on Friday, June 25, issue notice that Caner's contract as dean would not be renewed for the coming academic year. Caner remains as a professor at the seminary.

This turn of events caps a staggering setback during the past year for Caner. One year ago, he was signing books and giving media interviews at the SBC convention.

Kregel, which released the full statement early this morning to CT, said in part:

On June 25th Liberty University released a statement regarding its investigation of statements by Dr. Ergun Caner. Part of the Liberty report concluded:

“However, the committee found no evidence to suggest that Dr. Caner was not a Muslim who converted to Christianity as a teenager. . . .”

While Liberty University’s investigation did conclude that Dr. Caner made “factual statements that are self-contradictory” in sermons and speeches, Dr. Caner’s story, as presented in his 2002 national bestseller Unveiling Islam (co-authored with his brother Emir), has been verified by numerous persons who knew the Caner brothers as teens and throughout their adult lives. Kregel Publications has found no credible evidence that contradicts the biography as presented in Dr. Caner’s books.

[and]

Kregel Publications has concluded that the Kregel titles by Dr. Caner are trustworthy, factually accurate, and helpful to both Christians and seekers wanting to know more about Islamic beliefs and how those beliefs compare and contrast with biblical Christianity. We accept as sincere Dr. Caner’s statement, posted on his Web site in February, that said he “never intentionally misled anyone. . . . For those times where I misspoke, said it wrong, scrambled words, or was just outright confusing, I apologize and will strive to do better.”

Meanwhile, scholar, author, professor Dr. Norman Geisler has posted two lengthy documents on his website, addressing critics of Caner point by point.

Click here for the full text.

Despite these endorsements, from the critics' point of view, there remain many unanswered questions about Caner's expertise in Islam as well as puzzlement about Caner's unwillingness to respond to media requests for interviews or produce some physical evidence (an old passport, visa, or a birth certificate, for example) that would corroborate his story.

I spoke at length by phone yesterday with Dr. Geisler, more off the record than on. He makes no secret of his personal support for Caner. He had no problem admitting that the "full truth" had yet to be told and that Caner had been "hung out to dry."

There are unconfirmed reports that Liberty University has placed a gag order on Caner. So far, the school has said very little other than its June 25 statement.

Update (Apr. 2, 2013): Indonesia's religious affairs minister has blamed Christians for bringing discrimination upon themselves, saying they have politicized a problem that is primarily administrative, not religious, in nature.

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Update (Mar. 21, 2013): A Protestant church near Jakarta was bulldozed this week after a 13-year struggle to obtain a permit. Members of the Batak Protestant Church (HKBP) in Setu, Bekasi, plan to file suit.

The Setara Institute expects further trouble, according to Agence France-Press, because only 10 of Bekasi's 39 HKBP congregations have permits for their buildings.

CT noted last September when a church in Bogor drew international attention for a similar struggle over its own building. The Taman Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church (GKI Yasmin) was ordered to relocate, despite a Supreme Court ruling in its favor.

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Radical Muslim groups in Bekasi on the Indonesian island of Java have made the latest move in Indonesia’s ongoing religious tensions, reports Compass Direct News.

Leaders from nine groups announced on June 27 that the hard-line groups had agreed at a meeting of the Bekasi Islamic Congress to unite the city’s Islamic groups with a youth army and a joint mission center to halt what they see as a growing “Christianization” of the Jakarta suburb.

“We are planning to station members [of the group] in every mosque in the city,” said Tunggal Sawabi of the Bekasi branch of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) and one of the “field commanders” of the new movement, according to the Jakarta Post.

Christianity has been making significant gains in Indonesia, according to Time magazine, which reports that the number of evangelical Churches in communities like Temanggung in Central Java have gone from zero in the 1960s to more than 40 today. While Indonesia’s government and most of the nation’s Muslims are more moderate, more radical groups like the nine in Bekasi have become increasingly agitated.

According to the Post, Bekasi’s radical Muslim leaders say that area Christians have broken an unwritten rule against attempting to convert people who have already chosen a religion.

"If they refuse to stop what they're doing, we're ready to fight,” said Murhali Barda of the Islamic Defenders Front, according to the Associated Press.

Advisors to a small media company that acquired the large multi-faith website Beliefnet include evangelicals such as Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice and T.D. Jakes, pastor of Potter’s House in Dallas.

Last week, BN Media LLC purchased Beliefnet from Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, which also owns The Wall Street Journal and Fox News. Steve Halliday, president of BN Media, said the company plans to create further cross-promotion between Beliefnet and its subsidiaries.

The for-profit company owns Affinity4, which specializes in channeling 10 percent of consumer spending to charity, and Cross Bridge, which creates video content. Halliday says the editorial control will be left to the discretion of Beliefnet editors. Sekulow and Jakes serve as Affinity4 board members and Cross Bridge advisors, but Halliday says the company will create a separate multi-faith advisory board for Beliefnet.

“We like what Beliefnet does,” he said. “We’re simply looking to add tools to that to make the user experience even broader.”

Halliday says that Beliefnet pages will have cross-promotion where the company feels it is appropriate.

“You could be watching a video on Beliefnet where T.D. Jakes is talking about water wells for Africa, and at the end, it would say ‘Click here to go to Affinity4 to give to the effort,'” Halliday said.

Terms of the transaction were confidential, Halliday said. News Corp. laid off several Beliefnet employees during the transition, but Halliday declined to say how many.

Halliday sees video content as part of the key for success in online publishing.

“If you take YouTube and Hulu as two examples, you can see phenomenal growth,” he said. “It’s better than a Kindle reader: you have things to read, you can push a button, and take action in one place.”

Beliefnet has an average of 3 million unique visitors per month to its website, which hosts blogs written by several Christian writers, including Scot McKnight, Ben Witherington, and Rod Dreher.

Dreher, director of publications at the John Templeton Foundation and former columnist for the Dallas Morning News, said he is moving his blog off of Beliefnet later this summer when Templeton launches an online magazine.

What seemed like a divorce turned out to be only a brief separation.

The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) and the American Academy of Religion (AAR), premier academic societies in the respective fields of critical biblical studies and religion, sent a letter to members this week announcing their joint conference — an annual pre-Thanksgiving event that in 2007 drew over 10,000 scholars — would resume in 2011 in San Francisco. They began holding separate conferences in separate cities in 2008.

This week April DeConick, a Rice University scholar in early Jewish/Christian thought, posted the letter, which includes agreed-upon guidelines for forthcoming conferences:

These meetings will

Occur in the same city — though the venue will change from year to year;
Occur at the same time — the weekend before the US Thanksgiving holiday;
Feature a single, jointly managed Publishers/Software/Book Exhibit;
Feature a single, jointly managed Employment Center;
Feature distinct and separate AAR and SBL programs planned with open communication between the organizations;
Encourage the organizations’ members to attend each other’s programs and events at no additional cost;
Allow the organizations to pursue their unique, if sometimes overlapping, missions;
Enhance cooperation, not competition, between the organizations.

The decision to meet separately drew criticism from attendees whose scholarly research fits AAR and SBL's respective fields, and who thus had to ask their schools to pay to attend both or opt to attend only one. Religion booksellers, seminary exhibitors, and alumni groups faced similar logistical challenges.

The letter, signed by AAR executive director Jack Fitzmier and SBL executive director Kent Richards, says nine concurrent meetings are planned from 2011 to 2019, with a fall 2012 meeting in Chicago and a fall 2013 meeting in Baltimore.