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1. Connecticut churches face tax penalties for ministries
Sunday's The New York Times has a troubling story on how costly it can be for a church to serve the needy. Definitely worth a read.

2. 7th Heaven ends its run tonight
The Times has an interesting review, in part criticizing the show for moralizing against premarital sex, but also for being duplicitous: "As distasteful as the series might seem to liberal sensibilities, it is arguably more offensive still to conservative ones, because of the sleaziness with which it puts across the Christian values to which it halfheartedly aspires. … It revels in the illicit behavior it condemns and takes pleasure in its own creepy innuendos." Slate agrees: "For all its conservative sexual mores, 7th Heaven is one of the most sexually frank shows on television. So does The Denver Post: "Just read any '7H' plot summary and tell me it isn't as trashy as The O.C. ('Virgin Martin impregnates Hilary Duff's slutty older sister on the day he meets her.')" Not revealed in the final episode: the actual denomination that the pastor dad actually belongs to.

3. AIDS groups shunning Saddleback
The front page of today's San Francisco Chronicle reports on Saddleback Church's plan to help people with HIV and AIDS. But the plan may not come into fruition because other AIDS groups—though desperate for volunteers—are suspicious of the conservative church. Joe Garofoli reports:

[S]ome secular HIV care providers are wary of Saddleback's motives. They don't trust them. Not yet.

After decades of hearing evangelical Christian leaders demonize homosexuals for their "sinful" lifestyle or criticize the risky behavior that led people to contract HIV, some care providers are leery of exposing their clients to people who they fear will proselytize to a vulnerable audience.

The result: Without being able to connect with local service providers, Saddleback volunteers are helping only a handful of HIV-positive people.

Some gay groups say the Warrens and their church shouldn't fight HIV until they're ready to "recognize the inherent beauty in all relationships." But Garofoli notes that while Warren hasn't "gone soft on homosexuality," anyone "expecting gay-bashing" from the church's Care Training "would have left the first class disappointed."

4. Episcopal Diocese of California elects a new bishop
How do you know a church is liberal? When the headlines read "Heterosexual elected Episcopal Bishop of Calif," "Episcopalians elect straight bishop in S.F.," and  "Episcopalians reject gay candidates."

5. Iraqi Christians who crossed Mexican border get 6 month sentence
The Brownsville Herald is now putting "Christians" into scare quotes. (See last week's Weblog posting for background). That's because Judge Felix Recio says he didn't believe them:

Recio told the three men that their story did not add up for him and sentenced each of them to the maximum allowed under federal law.

The magistrate judge told the men he gave them the stiff sentence because of the ongoing war in Iraq and that he wanted to send a message to any would-be immigrants that they need to use to the proper channels to seek asylum.

FBI officials said the three men are not suspected of being terrorists, but Recio told the men in court that he found it "very difficult" to accept their story.

"You didn't have to come to Brownsville or Mexico," Recio said. "You could have gone to any other country to seek asylum. You could have gone to Christian groups. … You could have gone to a bridge and asked for asylum."

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May (Web-only) 2006, Vol. 50