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3. Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) cutting budget by another 13 percent
The PCUSA went through significant layoffs and reductions in 2002 and 2003. Now it's going to have to cut even more, reports The Courier-Journal. From the article, it certainly sounds like the area that will see the bulk of the denomination's $14.8 million cuts over the next two years will be missions. The paper reports:

In the past, the headquarters, which has about 600 employees, was a hub for the denomination's programs, financed by member churches -- things such as mission trips and social-outreach efforts.

But increasingly, individual congregations are using the money they raise to conduct their own trips and programs, said John Detterick, executive director of the General Assembly Council, which oversees most denomination departments.

"There will always be a key place for national missions, but I think we're at a transition, from a time when huge amounts of money were sent for other people to do God's work, to a time when more of it is going to be determined locally and regionally," he said. …

The council's governing body adopted a plan earlier this year to base budget decisions on four sets of objectives: evangelism and witness; justice and compassion; spirituality and discipleship; and leadership and vocation …

Unlike in the past, when the denomination was needed to coordinate things like mission trips, even a small church today can use the Internet to contact a church or missionary on another continent and send their members on a short-term trip to help out, taking advantage of relatively cheap travel costs.

But what the paper doesn't ask is whether such a changed emphasis in missions will mean that even less money gets sent to the denomination. If the denomination says that missions is top priority, and that missions should be funded and directed by the local congregation rather than the national headquarters, why send money to the national headquarters? To support pro-abortion rallies?

4. Church and state in Jamaica
Jamaica's new prime minister, Portia Simpson-Miller, has been making some very interesting comments since taking office March 30. At an April 2 church service, she told congregants, "If I am appointed by the Almighty to be prime minister then all of you Christians must give support to the appointment of the Lord. If it is not done, the whip will not be drawn against me, because I am going to be carrying out His will."

Also controversial is her plan to combat corruption by requiring each state governing board to include at least one pastor. "I think it was designed to curry the favour of the Christian community rather than a practical proposal for effective government," Opposition Leader Bruce Golding told The Jamaica Observer.

5. What's next for American Idol's Mandisa? Controversy.
The Tennessean and other media outlets are speculating that Mandisa Hundley was booted off of American Idol because she likes Beth Moore, and Beth Moore likes the ex-gay group Exodus International. AOL's TMZ.com reports, "Sources connected with 'Idol' tell TMZ the buzz behind the scenes last night was Mandisa getting the boot had nothing to do with her performance—it was all about her openly anti-gay affiliations." The Tennessean also reports that her desire to do both gospel music and mainstream R&B "could hurt Hundley with Christian music industry executives."

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April (Web-only) 2006, Vol. 50