Having burned through its initial $30 million investment from Family Christian Stores, Madison Dearborn Partners, and Andersen Consulting, Christian Web site iBelieve.com was unable to get another penny—and was forced to shut down. "We met or exceeded all of our traffic metrics, experienced revenue growth every month since launch and realized our goal of becoming the leading Christian Internet site," said Jef Fite, president of iBelieve.com, says in the press release. "However, like many other Internet companies, we were not able to raise capital given the current market conditions, and we are left without options." The site's home page now has a letter explaining the shut down, but earlier today there were signs of perhaps disgruntled employees—or just bad luck. An instant e-poll asked: "How would you describe your financial status?
[ ] No financial problems right now,
[ ] Money is tight, but not serious,
[ ] Major financial problems."
IBelieve.com had conveniently already checked the final box.

The former president—probably one of the most famous Southern Baptists other than Billy Graham—is announcing his departure from the denomination in a letter to 75,000 Southern Baptists across the nation. "This has been a very difficult thing for me," Carter told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "My grandfather, my father and I have always been Southern Baptists, and for 21 years, since the first political division took place in the Southern Baptist Convention, I have maintained that relationship. I feel I can no longer in good conscience do that." Carter says the last straw was the new Baptist ...