A bad week for Crosswalk.com
It's been a rough week for Christian Internet site Crosswalk.com. First, it disclosed that its CEO, Scott Fehrenbacher, was "named in criminal proceedings in Orange County, Florida." If that sounds odd, since Crosswalk is based in Virginia, and Fehrenbacher moved there from Seattle, the press release gives a few clues.
The allegations, which do not involve Crosswalk.com, are related to a dispute with a former business competitor who was involved in purchasing Mr. Fehrenbacher's successful former business, but which apparently suffered losses since it's sale in 1998. … These allegations involved a business deal whereby Mr. Fehrenbacher sold his values-based software program, which rated mutual funds based on their support for socially responsible stocks and other investments. Unfortunately, the individuals who purchased the business have been unsuccessful in maintaining profitability and marketing this database research program, and apparently now are trying to blame Mr. Fehrenbacher for such failures.
That's all Weblog has seen so far about the charges, but here's a little background. Fehrenbacher's "successful former business" was the Institute for American Values Investing. But actually it was Crosswalk that purchased "the brand name and proprietary investment screens" of that Redmond, Washington-based company. What Crosswalk didn't buy, apparently, was his eValueator program, which Fehrenbacher sold to Arthur Ally's Timothy Plan, another values-based investing company (based in Winter Park, Orange County, Florida—birthplace of Crown Financial Ministries' Larry Burkett). The software, then as now, sells for $400. But if you'd like to see essentially what it does, take a look at Fehrenbacher's Investigator, which he put together at Crosswalk. Like eValueator, it checks mutual funds, companies, and portfolios for involvement in pornography, abortion, tobacco, gambling, and other ills. But unlike eValueator, Investigator is free. Weblog has absolutely no idea if the criminal charges have anything to do with the similarities between eValueator and Investigator, but offering a free product that does the same thing as a $400 product may have something to do with the latter being "unsuccessful in maintaining profitability and marketing this database research program." More on this case later, to be sure.
But as if having your CEO arrested wasn't bad enough, Crosswalk got another bit of bad news this week: Nasdaq kicked the company's listing off the National Market and booting it down to the Nasdaq SmallCap Market. In baseball terms, it's been back to the minor leagues. (Entrepreneur.com has a very nice explanation of the difference between the National Market, the Small Cap Market, Bulletin Board stocks, etc.) In a press release, Crosswalk says it "does not feel that it is the best interest of the shareholders to take on considerable dilution that would be necessary for the sole purpose of maintaining [a National Market] listing."
It's not all bad news for the dot-com, however. Crosswalk was chosen as the primary advertising vehicle for the NBC sitcom Kristin? Apparently the reason critics said the show looked like a Christian sitcom was because it was supposed to. The star, singer Kristin Chenoweth, is a Christian herself, but she tells Beliefnet "the show's more about morality. I wanted to portray a person who is a Christian but who has real dilemmas just like any single young woman." That's nice, but apparently Paramount TV is thinking that its best bet is to market the show to Christians—particularly the Christians who visit Crosswalk's entertainment page.
Billy Graham returns to the pulpit
With seven months having passed since his last public preaching but mere weeks since his last serious hospitalization, 82-year-old Billy Graham began a four-day crusade in Louisville, Kentucky last night. But the big news, apparently, was the weather: both The Dallas Morning News and The Courier-Journal of Louisville led off their stories by noting that a three-hours rainstorm stopped just minutes before the crusade started. Also of note: Graham has apparently stopped commenting on much apart from his ministry. "I just cannot answer all those questions any more, all the political questions and social problems," he said at a press conference. "I haven't been able to keep up with everything. I'm here just to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ."
The Roman Colosseum even more evil than thought
According to tradition, Christians were fed to wild beasts in the Roman Colosseum, originally called the Flavian Amphitheater (some scholars question whether it actually happened.) At the very least, Christians protested what went on inside. But now there's even more reason why the Colosseum deserved criticism: it was built from the sacking of the Jerusalem Temple. According to London's Daily Telegraph, Geza Alfoldy of Heidelberg University, working with Italian archaeologists, recently deciphered an inscription that reads, "The Emperor Caesar Vespasian Augustus had this new amphitheatre erected with the spoils of war. There is no doubt what war this was, the sack of Jerusalem."
Diplomatic dealings | Filipino Muslim rebels up the ante in kidnapping (ABCNews.com
Basilan priests back war vs Abus | Exasperated Filipino priests on Basilan island have advised the faithful to stock up on arms and ammunition instead of buying home appliances. (The Philippine Star)
Sudan is Bush's big African headache |Campaign against Khartoum is very reminiscent of that which led to the anti-apartheid act in 1986 (Business Day, Johannesburg)
U.S. business lobbies on Sudan | Legislation would for the first time deprive some foreign companies of access to US stock markets if they run foul of US foreign policy (Financial Times)
Suddenly in Sudan, a moment to care | The Bush administration finds itself paying increasing attention to the conflict in Sudan, because it involves two of its most important domestic constituencies: oil interests and religion. (The New York Times)
Persecution:
Mexican town wages crusade against evangelicals | Religious differences came to a head when the Catholic-dominated government of San Nicolas Ixmiquilpan cut off the water supply of the evangelical community and threatened to run them out of town because they refused to contribute money for fiestas celebrating Catholic saints' days (Reuters)
Schools ban meetings of service clubs | Saddleback Unified bars the student organizations during the school day rather than recognize a religious group on campus. (Los Angeles Times)
Ruling on after-school religious meetings fuels church-state debate | What does the 6-3 decision in Good News Club v. Milford Central School portend for other church-state relationships, including school voucher programs and President Bush's charitable-choice initiative? (Freedom Forum)
Supreme Court's decision good news for First Amendment | This case isn't about government endorsement of religion; it's about government acting toward religion in a way that's fair and neutral. (Charles Haynes, The Freedom Forum)
Good news on vouchers | If the court permits Bible clubs, why not parochial schools? (Richard W. Garnett, The Wall Street Journal)
There's enough room in school for everyone—or is there? | Are public school buildings so imbued with the aura of "public education" that any other use constitutes defiling the holy temple? (Laurence Cohen, The Hartford Courant)
The new face of persecution | The liberal agenda, while masquerading as the torchbearer of free speech and civil rights, grinds to an embarrassing halt when it reaches religion. (Editorial, The Washington Times)
Education:
Bishop attacks schools' 'dishonesty' on faith | Chair of Church of England's Board of Education says head teachers of church schools are playing down their Christianity (The Daily Telegraph, London)
Religious colleges aren't the Church | Why a Lutheran bishop can be forced to resign but still keep teaching at a Lutheran school (Luther S. Luedtke, Los Angeles Times)
Teach sues for 1M In L.I. 'witch' firing | Elementary school teacher she was discriminated against because she wears dark clothing and makeup, has long fingernails, taught about the Salem Witch Trials and that a school board member told her administrators believe she is a witch (The New York Daily News)
Plating politics in Florida | Florida´s approval of "Choose Life" specialty license plates has encouraged anti-abortion groups in several states to push for legislation authorizing the sale of plates bearing the motto. But pro-choice activists are stymieing their efforts. (The Washington Times)
Lipton ad pokes fun at 'core belief' | Food giant Unilever has dumped an advertisement that depicts a smirking man waiting in line to receive holy communion with a bowl of onion dip after a Roman Catholic group said it was outraged by Unilever's "corporate arrogance." (The Ottawa Citizen)
Homosexuality:
Everyone on TV is gay | Frasier Crane, Chandler Bing, even those chicks from Sex and the City. A gay sensibility has infiltrated American comedy, even when flying beneath the radar in an ostensibly heterosexual situation. (The New York Times)
Gay pastor considers future role in church | A local gay pastor, convinced the Methodist church will change "sooner or later," works with his congregation to determine his role in the meantime. (The Seattle Times)
32 United Methodist clerics to defy rule on gays | East Ohio ministers vow to preach from their pulpits and teach children in their Sunday schools that homosexuality is compatible with Christianity. (The Plain Dealer, Cleveland)
Divisions in the Episcopal Church:
Episcopal dissidents look to expand | Four more bishops are to be consecrated for the Anglican Mission in America—this time, in the United States (The New York Times)
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Archbishop of Canterbury warns of schism in U.S. | "I simply cannot believe this is in conformity with the way Christ would want us to behave," Carey says of plans to consecrate new missionary bishops. (The Guardian, London)
Pastor joins breakaway Anglicans | Alexander "Sandy" Greene is the seventh priest in Colorado to leave the Episcopal diocese for the Anglican Mission in America in less than a year (The Denver Post)
The blessed get poorer | The Church of England is selling its silverware and depriving bishops of their chauffeurs to help to pay its pensioned-off parsons (Richard Morrison, The Times, London)
Abolish the Church, says former bishop | David Jenkins, who questioned Jesus' resurrection, now says Church of England has outlived its usefulness (The Independent, London)
Synod call to waive fines for poorest | The Church of England is being pressed to demand that the government should set minimum household income levels of more than £200 a week (The Guardian)
Southern Baptist meeting:
Baptists convene, and turn to family | Speakers at the Southern Baptist Convention are attacking what they call a depletion in the family structure, despite gains in membership and congregations. (The New York Times)
Baptists offer Disney deal on boycott | Stop cooperating with gay activities and causes in its theme parks, television programs and publications, demands Richard Land (The Orlando Sentinel)
Southern Baptists wrap up meeting | America's largest Protestant denomination took positions that would carry broad support: feed the hungry, preserve marriage and protect children from pornography. (Associated Press)
Southern Baptists focus on divorce | Disturbed by high divorce rates, the Southern Baptist Convention is developing a blueprint for pastors on preventing divorce and ministering to single parents. (Associated Press)
Southern Baptists eye family issues | After several years of conventions that revolved around high-profile votes from Christians boycotting Disney products to wives submitting to their husbands, Southern Baptist leaders predict that this year's gathering at the Superdome will be relatively quiet. (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Whither ecumenism? | The bad news is always the loudest. In truth, then and now confessional Christians within churches that lost their way have faithfully acknowledged Christ as Lord. And in the end, they prevailed (Uwe Siemon-Netto, UPI)
U.S. Catholic bishops meet:
Catholic bishops conclude meeting | The future of the nation's Catholic colleges, hospitals and health care facilities is murky. (Associated Press)
U.S. Catholic bishops approve policies | Roman Catholic bishops overwhelmingly move to keep church-affiliated colleges and hospitals in line with official teaching. (Associated Press)
Catholic colleges face doctrine requirement | Several Catholic theologians will refuse to seek such a seal of approval, saying that to do so would threaten their academic freedom (The Boston Globe)
Plus: The cardinal was perverse | Tributes to the late Cardinal Winning fail to record that he was a bigot who wasted his energies on futile crusades (The Guardian) (Weblog comment: When was the last time you saw a major newspaper run a "We come not to praise him, but to bury him" obituary that was this negative?)
In first year, a tough balancing act for Egan | Unlike his predecessor, Cardinal Edward M. Egan has remained in his first year as archbishop of New York an enigmatic figure who has spent much time attempting to stave off an archdiocesan financial deficit. (The New York Times)
Cathedral's salvation | Renovations under way for centuries-old New Orleans church (The Dallas Morning News)
Also: Pfleger's relentless crusades | Chicago is lucky to have the pastor of St. Sabina, even if he is too much of a lone ranger (Editorial, Chicago Tribune)
Church must 'police' priests | It will be a great day, indeed, when the U.S. Catholic bishops go on the offense against sexual malefactors in the ranks of the clergy, instead of defensively deploying an army of lawyers to buy the silence of victims, and keep the ugly truth out of the press. (Rod Dreher, New York Post)
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Church conflicts:
Is it God's little half acre? | Hall church, former member battle over tract that both claim (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Vicar whips up grave storm | David Adams has been branded Tomb Raider by angry parishioners—for flattening 64 gravestones (The Sun, London)
Worship:
Clergy in revolt over new book of prayers | Hundreds boycotting Common Worship because collects are written in the 17th-century English of the Book of Common Prayer. (The Times, London)
Parishioners protest lack of Polish | Attendance at the Polish Mass at Jersey City's Our Lady of Czestochowa has dwindled to 55—but oh what a 55. (Associated Press)
Intelligent design does not compute | ID is not a program for scientifically understanding the world; it's a program for surrendering our quest for scientific understanding (Chet Raymo, The Boston Globe)
Brimstone becomes the Christian Right | Many Christians, including many members of the clergy, regard both the evangelical movement and the personal politics of DeLay and Ashcroft as incompatible with the teachings of Jesus. Yet the evangelicals have read their Bibles, and they have very good reasons to regard Jesus as a prophet of rage. (Crispin Sartwell, Los Angeles Times)
Hunzvi 'became a born-again Christian' before his death | Doctor used offices as a torture chamber, called himself "Hitler," led Zimbabwe's war veterans, and was declared a hero by President Mugabe (The Independent, Johannesburg)
The Bible tells them so | Evangelical group embraces gender egalitarianism as the only scriptural way (The Dallas Morning News)
Sunstone's future at a crossroads | With the departure of its editor, the magazine's future as a unique forum for critical Mormon thought appears in limbo. (The Salt Lake Tribune)
Wife says suspect told a priest 20 years ago of aiding Soviets | Priest initially urged Robert Hanssen to turn himself in, but then changed his mind and persuaded Hanssen to donate the $20,000 he had received from the Soviets to charity (The New York Times)
Seek and ye shall find a fund | A number of socially conscious mutual funds have proven they can perform on par with their anything-goes counterparts (Chicago Tribune)
Building respect for Latino Protestantism | Jesse Miranda, a Southland Assemblies of God minister is shepherding efforts to help make the long-overlooked churches a social force (Los Angeles Times)
Russian Journey, Part 2 | Anne Garrels profiles a Novgorod Baptist church built by American Christian money and a more-progressive-than-usual Orthodox congregation. (NPR's All Things Considered)
While we pray for peace, we need moral clarity about this war.
As my doubts about his teachings grew, so did a secret fascination with Jesus.
Leader explains why the movement is seeing its biggest membership bump in 30 years and its mission for the years ahead.
