Forget About Working Here Anymore, Amnesiac Pastor Told

Disappearing pastor who claimed amnesia will step down For those of you who’ve missed the past installments of the story of James Simmons, here’s a brief recap: Wesley Barrett “Barre” Cox was a married youth minister from San Antonio who one day disappeared. According to his story, he was found beaten, in the trunk of a car in Memphis. When he awoke from a coma two weeks later (so goes his story), he had amnesia and could not remember his identity. He took the name James Simmons and continued with his life. Sixteen years later, an old acquaintance found him, still amnesiac, applying to be senior pastor at another Texas church. By the time the story made worldwide news, he had been hired as senior pastor of White Rock Community Church, a predominantly gay congregation in Dallas. As reporters and others prodded at his story, however, holes were uncovered. Doubts surfaced. Frustrated, Simmons/Cox demanded that his church support him by a two-thirds majority or he’d leave. On Friday, the congregation took a vote, and Simmons/Cox received only a 106-76 majority. Church member Les Spradlin was one of the 76. “I don’t believe a word the man says,” he told The Dallas Morning News. “With someone who leads a church, you have to be able to trust and have confidence in that person.” Simmons preached for the last time on Sunday (the sermon was on unity and can be heard at the sermons area of the church’s Web site) and said he would stay at the church as a member. “God has been very good to me,” he said Friday (his comments from that evening are also available in streaming audio). “He will provide me with a ministry and a setting.” (The Abilene Reporter-News offers a great collection of background articles, from July 14, 1984’s “Ex-ACU employee missing: Ransacked car found; foul play suspected” to news about his stepping down as pastor of White Rock.)

Another resignation under a cloud of criticism:

A farewell is absent at church hit by scandal | Pastor of Boston’s St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church resigns under fire (The Boston Globe)
Pastor resigns from church where molestations alleged to have occurred | Church needs “a pastor who is able to give … his complete attention and energy,” says resigning minister (Associated Press/Boston Herald)
Pastor in abuse case resigns post (The Boston Globe)

Jehovah’s Witnesses win case; 1997 religion law receives major blow A Moscow court threw out a case Friday that sought to outlaw the Jehovah’s Witnesses in the city. Prosecutors had argued that the sect was promoting religious discord, breaking up families, and posing a threat to society. “Today is a historic day for religious freedom in Moscow and throughout Russia,” the Witnesses’ lawyer, Galina Krylova, said in a press release. Indeed, it might actually be. Politically, at least, Russia’s controversial 1997 Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Association suffered a huge setback. And the law was already loosened a bit last year (but try telling that to the Salvation Army). Still, the Jehovah’s Witnesses may not be out of the woods yet. “A court verdict is a powerful thing, of course. But it is tricky to say whether we are talking about the final decision on this particular problem,” says Father Vsevolod Chaplin, representative of the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. “In any case, this is a matter for state powers.” In other words, the Russian Orthodox Church will keep pushing; and if it does, so will the state.

Though some celebration of religious freedom may be in order, Jehovah’s Witnesses aren’t the only ones that may hold off rejoicing. As Christianity Today reported earlier this month, more than 9,000 religious organizations registered with the state in accordance with the 1997 religion law. But as Catholic news agency Zenit reported Saturday, “Some churches are finding that Russia and some of the former Soviet republics can be very cold places indeed.” Some Pentecostal groups have refused to register on principle, and other groups (including the Salvation Army and some Buddhists) were denied registration. Though the Russian Justice Ministry says only 10 percent of organizations didn’t register, presidential human-rights ombudsman Oleg Mironov upped it to about 30 percent, or about 4,500 groups.

More on Russia and the Russian Orthodox Church:

Taking out a copyright on God | Russian Orthodox Church leaders have hammered out a deal with the government agency in charge of trademarks to censor potentially offensive names (The Moscow Times)
Patriarch urges not to fear tax numbers as sign of Antichrist | “INN has no confessional significance whatsoever” (Strana.ru/Russia Religion News)
Patriarch title caught in Catholic-Orthodox rift | New cardinal for Ukrainian Greek Catholics denied title as Vatican seeks to calm Russian Orthodox concerns. (Associated Press/Beliefnet)
Biker priest revs up his Russian flock (The Boston Globe)

And the winner of the dumbest headline contest is … It doesn’t get much more obvious than this headline, which appeared in Friday’s Chicago Tribune: “Minister uses sermons to make services more relevant.” All you readers in the pastorate should consider this earth-shattering idea. Actually, Weblog is being unkind. The article is actually somewhat interesting, and is about a United Methodist pastor who has quit using the lectionary and is now writing his sermons as he feels led. “I believe this is the first time in 24 years I’m not talking about why the transfiguration is important on the Sunday before Lent,” Phil Sheets tells the Tribune (he instead preached on “ways to infuse patience in day-to-day living”). “It was always a struggle to find new ways to talk about the same Scripture readings, but this year, I didn’t have to worry.” (Chicago Tribune) There’s a sermon illustration here, to be sure …

Religion, schools, and the courts:

The Supreme Court case that pits free speech against church-state separation (Michael C. Dorf, Findlaw’s Writ)
Legal issues cloud role for religious schools | The future of vouchers probably hinges on whether the courts will allow people to use taxpayer dollars to pay for religious teaching. (The Boston Globe)
A win for the First Amendment | The political-correctness movement took a major hit in court last week—and it’s about time. (Editorial, New York Post)
Common sense and the Constitution | The Supreme Court should rule that whenever government decides to suppress a particular kind of speech in order to avoid seeming to endorse it, that decision is inescapably based on the viewpoint expressed in the suppressed speech. (George Will, The Washington Post)

Faith-based organizations and government grants:

Successful partnerships with faith-based groups focus on secular activities | Efforts to link religious groups and schools have been underway for years in many communities — especially in inner-city districts. (Charles Haynes, Freedom Forum)
Inmates build faith behind bars | While officials call a Christian prison program a success, some foes say it is unconstitutional. (Associated Press/Chicago Tribune)
Compassion is only one dimension of religion | If the administration is going to champion religion, then it better be equally prepared to take seriously the critiques of its social policy agenda, such as tax cuts for the wealthy. (Donald E. Miller, Los Angeles Times)
Onward Christian soldier | John DiIulio, ready to go to the mat with a faith-based approach to crime (The Washington Post)

Colorado’s anti-faith-healing bill:

A law to protect children | Anti-faith-healing bill is an essential step out of the Dark Ages for Colorado (Editorial, The Denver Post)
Christian Scientists oppose measure | The Christian Scientists are bringing out their powerful lobby again (The Denver Post)

More religion and politics:

Prayer breakfast will be boycotted | Groups including the Catholic church, Temple Israel and St. Basil Greek Orthodox Church say the title implies the event is an interfaith meeting, when it will actually feature the teachings of only one religion, evangelical Christians. (KCRA, Sacramento, California)
Archbishop vows fight ‘all the way to Supreme Court’ | Seattle Archbishop Alex Brunett said he not only would sue, but would also recruit other religious leaders to force King County to back down on efforts to limit the size of churches, private schools, and other public buildings (The Seattle Times)
Pair of views about Sudan: help rebels or end war | The Bush administration is coming under pressure from Christian groups and members of Congress to help rebels in Sudan, but a nonpartisan group is recommending that the United States try to end the 18-year-old war, the longest running in Africa. (The New York Times)

Communion controversies:

Communing with danger?| Scientists say no: Studies find no evidence of disease through sharing cup (National Post, Canada)
Priests urged to speak out on cardinal’s view | Rector calls for Catholic priests who disagree with comments on intercommunion to break the “conspiracy of silence.” (The Irish Times)
Why cardinal cannot win in communion row (Breda O’Brien, The Irish Times)

Chicago’s Christian radio:

Hallelujah chorus | Radio stations that sing the praises find more reasons to celebrate (Chicago Tribune)
WYCA leaving religion for urban contemporary (Chicago Sun-Times)

China has more Christianity in it than it would like to admit:

Did Christianity thrive in China? | Digging for evidence in an ancient church (U.S. News & World Report)
China’s Christian roots uncovered (The Times, London)
China’s Catholics in the crossfire | The Vatican seems not to have clear-cut ideas on whether to confront or come to terms with Beijing (Asia Times)

The Subcontinent:

Conversion of six tribals to Christianity put off | In the first instance of its kind since the amendment to the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act in 1999, conversion of six tribals to Christianity was put off recently in Balasore district as police investigation into the causes leading to their conversion was yet to be completed. (The Times of India)
Earlier: Indian Churches Protest ‘Price Tag’ for Christian Conversion | Orissa ordering official permission, fees to change religion (Christianity Today, Mar. 23, 2000)
Christian divorce laws under scrutiny | The government may pilot the Indian Divorce (Amendment) Bill 2001 during the current session of Parliament though Christian bodies have alleged that they were not consulted on the crucial issue (The Times of India)
Earlier: Hindu Government Moves to Change Christian Divorce | Proposed bill would grant Christian women the right to ask for divorce if their husbands commit adultery (Christianity Today, Feb. 16, 2001)
Indian bishops allege ‘ulteriour motives’ in census | Questions “discriminating against weaker sections of society.” (The Times of India)
Pakistan churches want removal of minister | United Churches Action Forum (UCAF) says Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs creating misunderstandings between the Christians and the government. (Dawn, Karachi, Pakistan)

Catholic Church’s new cardinals:

Cardinals called to Rome in May | Pope wants to discuss missionary activities, the need for a spirit of reconciliation, and the sharing of authority among bishops (Associated Press)
Is Asian cardinal in line for papacy? | Francis Xavier Nguyen Cardinal Van Thuan, 73, may be next (Rod Dreher, New York Post)

Faith and film:

Show me the message! | The five best-picture Oscar nominees present varying levels of spirituality. (The Indianapolis Star)
All movies great and small inspire Christian reviewer | HollywoodJesus.com’s David Bruce focuses on revealing the Christian values in the midst of secular pop culture (Vancouver Sun/National Post)

Related Elsewhere

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