OUR COLUMNISTS Is the Church Ready for the Competition? Guest Commentary by Dr. Marc Newman What goes on in a movie theater is the same thing that goes on in church -- worldviews are being established, behaviors are condemned or condoned, even issues about transcendence are being resolved. Deadly Ambition Commentary by Brad Locke Many athletes can't see beyond the finish line. Life to them is empty without a trophy to be won. If they only knew that there is a prize so much greater than those perishable wreaths, a glory so much more worth their time and energies (I Corinthians 9:25). Voting: Privilege and Responsibility Commentary by David Sisler The 2000 campaign should have erased forever the excuse of non-voters that, "My vote doesn't matter." As an American, voting is your privilege. As a Christian, voting is your responsibility. No Middle Ground Here Commentary by Mark Creech The Bible teaches the nation that forgets God shall be turned into hell. Quite frankly, the question every American should be asking this election is this: "Is my vote supporting what God demands of the state?"

...A Republican congressman says a recent ruling from the IRS points to the need for a bill he's been promoting: the Houses of Worship Freedom of Speech Restoration Act (H.R. 235). The Internal Revenue Service decided this week that churches cannot pray for a Bush victory in the upcoming election and keep their tax-exempt status. North Carolina Congressman Walter Jones was shocked and angered when he heard the news of the ruling. "I am outraged, to be honest with you," the lawmaker says. "This just infuriates me ... that in America -- the home and the land of the free, with all our men and women who have given their life to protect freedom from the beginning of America through today -- that we would have a federal agency ... try to restrict prayer by our spiritual leaders. It is just unacceptable." Jones has been working for four years to ensure freedom of speech for the churches in the U.S. with H.R. 235, a piece of legislation he crafted. He says his bill will prevent the "big brother" intimidation of agencies like the IRS. [Bill Fancher]

...A fourth-grader claims school officials violated her constitutional rights by refusing to let her hand out personal religious flyers to other students. The federal lawsuit claims that the Liverpool, New York, school district violated Michaela Bloodgood's rights to free speech and equal protection under the law. The lawsuit says she was wrongly prevented from distributing a flier that begins: "Hi! My name is Michaela and I would like to tell you about my life and how Jesus Christ gave me a new one." Her attorney, Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel, says Bloodgood had asked for permission to hand out her flyers during "non-instructional time," such as on the bus before school, lunch, recess and after school. "Michaela was simply attempting to express to her friends what God has done in her life," Staver says. "She has every right to express her religious views in this way -- and we intend to protect her rights." [AP/Jody Brown]

...A media watchdog believes ABC's recent interview of President Bush was designed to get the president in trouble with his Christian base. During a recent interview on ABC's Good Morning America, host Charles Gibson asked the president whether he believes if both Christians and Muslims make it to heaven. The president responded: "Yes, they do. They take different routes to get there." Tim Graham of the Media Research Center says it was clearly a trick question. "The president tried to say 'I don't decide who goes to heaven, as president of the United States.' What Gibson's trying to do here is merely get the president in trouble," Graham says. "I believe Charles Gibson is asking these questions to get the president to disappoint his Christian supporters. That is the ABC agenda today." Graham says it is unfortunate that Bush cannot say what one would think he believes -- that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6) -- because he is afraid what his political enemies and the liberal news media would do with such a statement. "The press would start suggesting that President Bush wants all the Muslims exported from the United States, etc.," Graham speculates. "President Bush has done nothing in his term to oppress or discriminate against Muslims." In reality, Graham points out, Bush has frustrated many Christians by constantly referring to Islam as a "peaceful" religion. [Chad Groening]

...A California pro-family advocate says voters are being asked to consider a proposal that would spend $3 billion of taxpayer money on embryonic stem-cell research. California's Proposition 71, crafted by scientists and Hollywood actors, would spend the billions on the unproven research, in effect doing an end-run around the Bush administration. (See Related Article) Randy Thomasson of Campaign for California Families (CCF) says the bill would fund "human cloning, human experimentation, [and] dissecting human embryos at taxpayer expense with no accountability -- and [with] no medical evidence whatsoever that it will even work." The CCF executive director says this proposal is being pushed by people who actually believe that Ronald Reagan and Christopher Reeve would have been cured if enough human embryos were destroyed. One of those Prop. 71 backers is California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was contacted this week by actor Mel Gibson about the measure. Gibson, a devout Catholic and producer of The Passion of the Christ, says he wanted to tell the governor he has a problem with asking taxpayers to support something they believe to be "unethical." But according to the actor, Schwarzenegger cut him short when the subject was brought up and offered to call back. Speaking on ABC's Good Morning America, Gibson says: ""Well, Arnold, I'm still waiting for your call." [Rusty Pugh/Jody Brown]

...A Roman Catholic pro-life group blames bishops and priests for what seems to be widespread ignorance about church teachings. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 72 percent of Catholics polled said they did not favor denying communion to politicians who support abortion and embryonic stem-cell research. Joe Starrs with the American Life League puts the responsibility squarely on the bishops and priests. "I think that just proves that the bishops and the priests need to do a better job explaining why pro-abortion Catholic politicians should not receive Holy Communion," the ALL spokesman says. "I don't think the majority of the bishops have articulated why this is necessary and why, according to church law, this really needs to be done. It's a matter of education, in terms of the Catholic people at large." And as for Catholic politicians who favor abortion, Starrs says it is a matter of politicians not being "educated" on church teachings. [Rusty Pugh]

...A stay-at-home mom and author of the book 7 Myths of Working Mothers says Teresa Heinz Kerry's recent statements about First Lady Laura Bush never having a "real job" are very telling. Suzanne Venker says Mrs. Kerry's derogatory statements toward motherhood were not the first. The wife of the Democratic presidential candidate made similar statements to a group in Iowa. Venker says no one has any business moralizing whether women should stay at home with their children. "But taken together, I think the two comments [by Mrs. Kerry] make a very big statement about where her head is as far as this issue goes, which in my opinion is a very scary place to be," the author states. Venker says Heinz Kerry's knee-jerk reaction is very sad because it shows where the potential first lady has her priorities regarding the nation's children. [Mary Rettig]

...A Christian artist is trying to make an eternal impact with his work. Over the last two decades, Mitchell Tolle has become one of the best-known artists in America. His watercolors have become favorites with Christian consumers worldwide. Tolle has also taught a Sunday school class at his Kentucky church for more than 20 years. He says he has been encouraging his class members to be ready for the Lord's imminent return. "Jesus said that a certain generation would not pass away, and I believe with all my heart that we are that generation and that we will see Him," the artist says. "It's a call to me to live pure and to be ready -- and I sense an urgent need to speak to my children and my grandchildren and all of those who we care about. We can no longer be timid or shy about this thing." Tolle's studio is in Berea, Kentucky. His latest painting is called "As Free as a Bird." [Allie Martin]

...An anchorman for a network affiliate in one of the largest television markets in the nation is encouraging Christians to find the good hiding in even the most tragic news stories. In his new book Finding God in the Evening News, Jody Dean, an anchor for CBS affiliate KTVT in Dallas-Fort Worth, touches on a variety of stories he has covered during his more than 30 years in the industry. Dean says too often, Christians view the evening news with contempt, not looking for God's work in the news stories. He admits the news probably dwells too much on "things that are going to be burned, that aren't really going to be eternal." He asks, "At the end of it all, what's going to really matter? Is it going to be that e-mail that we forwarded? Is it going to be that gossip or innuendo? Or even that factual news account that we heard? What are we really supposed to be looking towards?" The Emmy Award-winning anchor answer his own question. "To me, that's the cross -- to me, that's the hope of glory -- to me, that's the voice that said, 'Fear not! I am with you always.'" The veteran newscaster has covered stories such as the Wedgewood Church shooting in 1999, the Columbia Shuttle disaster, and the kidnapping of a metroplex girl which led to the nationwide "Amber Alert" notification system. [Allie Martin]

...The new president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary is pledging that the school will continue to teach conservative Christian values. President Daniel Akin made that promise during his inauguration Wednesday as the sixth president of the Wake Forest, North Carolina, school. Akin says the seminary will teach that the Bible is without error, that Christianity is the only way to salvation, and that God calls men to lead in the home. Akin is a protegee of former Southeastern president Paige Patterson, who is now the president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. [AP]

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