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This preacher promised she'd preach from the roof of the church when membership doubled at this "country church in the city."
Gimmicky or purposeful or both?

A man in the bathroom with a little boy who is having trouble with his zipper: do you help him?
What a great statement on innocence lost in today's society.

"God values men and women equally, any student here (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) will tell you. It's just that he's given them different responsibilities in life: Men make decisions. Women make dinner."

...We're back from recess at the Front Pew.
And what an amazing last month it's been on the local religion front.

Feast of the Tabernacles

Ramadan

Simply letting go

The Baby Boomer Baptist

Might a bidding war break out over home Duke basketball tickets, club seating for the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats or suite seating for the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes?
"That would be a good thing," gushes church member Kathryn Solee.

ABC recently profiled two pint-sized preachers.
I watched in awe as one of the two 'laid hands' on people four times their age.
One of the best preachers in Greensboro says he was called into ministry at the age of 10, and he doesn't paint a perfect picture of being "Son of Thunder."
Should someone save their childhood? Or do you question 'the calling' at any age?

From Destined for Divinity (full story below)
"One of his teachers sarcastically called him `"Mr. Chubbs'' when he played along with the other children. Some people didn't even think he should be out playing baseball.
"I often tell my son, 'I'm glad you had the chance to be a child,' "' Chubbs says.

"The idea of the Peace Walk developed at New Garden Friends Meeting after the Friendly Ave. sidewalk recently got completed all the way from Elm St. and downtown Greensboro out to Guilford College and New Garden Friends Meeting. Several people mentioned that we should put the new sidewalk to good use and the idea of the Peace Walk emerged.

"There have been many Peace events over the last five years, however, we wanted this event (Oct. 21) to be spiritual and reflective."

More from John Young, Peace With Every Step Organizing Committee Member:

Are you even surprised by such clergy allegations anymore?

"Some of the pastors I heard, especially at larger churches, were wonderful speakers. They said something -- and I know this sounds cheesy -- -but it really touched me, even though I didn't buy into the supernatural, godly aspect of it.

So I can understand why people would want to go there, especially when some of these churches are doing the type of community service they're doing. And it'' not proselytizing. It's just "We're Christians. It's our duty to help our community." Why wouldn't you be drawn to that?

But when you go to some of the other churches, it's just ritual after ritual and I'm falling asleep and I could see everyone else falling asleep listening to their pastor. I don't know why they come back -- and even worse, why they bring their kids."

What would you ask presidential candidates pandering this way for the Christian Right vote?

Megachurch pastor Joel Osteen has made millions as an author.
He's taken heat over apparently not having crosses and religious symbols inside in Lakewood Church. He's also been applauded by those who say he understands that messages of damnation and of a vengeful God no longer resonate with an overstressed society.
What's wrong with the simple message that God wants you to do good?

This one was apparently erected with vandals in mind.

I'm not sure how this reader walked away with this assertion:

"In all honesty, it is quite disturbing to me when those who
believe the family unit consists of a father (male) and a
mother (female) are referred to as "cruel and bigoted."

from this this story, but it does raise the question: In your faith community, is accepting a person's lifestyle choice the same as condoning it?

The next John F. Kennedy saga -- or not?

Where you raised in the same religion you participate in today? What's the difference?

This group wants to get the faith community to talking about sex -- to re-establish the value of virginity and celebacy.
Most houses of worship find this subject taboo -- unless a Ted Haggard occurs, and then, the message is that "the devil got to him.'

Alabama has became the first state in the Union to approve a textbook for a course about the Bible in its public schools:
"Some of its more liberal champions, such as the American Jewish Congress'' counsel Marc Stern, feel that the republic can not only survive but will actually benefit from public school courses on a document as culturally central as the Bible -- as long as the classes avoid being devotional."

Wiccans and other pagans believe their ancestors marked the end of the harvest season and the coming of winter with ceremonies, feasts, and other observances beginning sundown Oct. 31, called Samhain.
Its connection with Halloween: Many believe Halloween and Samhain share similar pagan roots going back to pre-Christian Europe and possibly ancient Egypt.

Gay protestors asked presidential contender Barack Obama to drop a well-known and popular pastor and singer from his gospel entourage in South Carolina this weekend because the man, Donnie McClurkin, says he overcame his homosexual tendancies through prayer. McClurkin, for his part, says he did not speak against homosexuals, but that God delivered him from homosexuality. Should he not be able to "testify" (in church talk) about his spiritual journey?

"I don't mind telling you that I paid a price for the political stands I took," Fox said. "The pendulum in the Christian world has swung back to the moderate point of view. The real battle now is among evangelicals."

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI urged Catholic pharmacists on Monday to use conscientious objection to avoid dispensing drugs with "immoral purposes such as, for example, abortion or euthanasia."

...in high definition.

"In the world's eyes, she's young, beautiful, talented, successful, yet her life is in shambles filled with bad relationships and devastating life choices," the pastor told church members. "If she were your next-door neighbor in the same situation without the money and success, wouldn't you care about her problems? Wouldn't you pray for her and offer her support and encouragement?"

Apparently Colorado's favorite baseball team has a new strategy for winning -- signing and developing high-character Christian players.

A children's fantasy film that stars Nicole Kidman and features a little girl on a quest to kill God has some Christian groups upset over what they believe is a ploy to promote atheism to kids.

A Veterans Affairs official had pulled the recitation of "The Meaning of Each Fold of an Honor Guard Funeral Flag" from burial ceremonies at national cemeteries last month after a complaint was filed with the White House over the recitation accompanying the 11th fold that mentions "the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."

"C.S. Lewis said there are two things that Christians can do wrong with evil, and one is to deny that it exists, and the other is to take it too seriously. Thoughtful Christianity should find a balance."

The interviewer observed that Sandra and Jerry Fitch committed adultery and asked if they saw anything wrong with what they did.
"With Sandra and I?" Jerry Fitch asked. "Nothing wrong there."

"I'm looking for solutions, and the people that I help, they don't ask me who L. Ron Hubbard is," said the Christian pastor, who works with addicts. "You know what they say? 'Thank God.' "