OUR COLUMNISTS (Click on photos for archives) A Youth Exodus From Church -- What Are We Doing Wrong? Commentary by Matt Friedeman I wonder if we don't significantly cheat our kids when we suggest that vital discipleship can exist without a life of evangelism and compassionate service. Elvis Has Left the Building Commentary by Joe Murray While rock and roll may have been Elvis' namesake, gospel music is what flowed through his blood. "Jailhouse Rock" or "All Shook Up" may have gotten him a platinum record, but it was "He Touched Me," a gospel song, that won Elvis his only Grammy. Hey, Everybody, Let's Give Up! Commentary by Jane Jimenez If Mr. Boss Man had his way, the Kansas City Royals would be sent home for rest and relaxation for the rest of the season. After all, odds are they won't be winning the World Series. Thank goodness for sports fans that Mr. Boss Man isn't in charge. By Example Commentary by Brad Locke I can't count how many stories I've written about "quiet leaders," those guys who "lead by example," as the coaches always say. There are plenty of vocal leaders, but their words are only as effective as their example. North Carolina Judge Lowers Great Moral Standard Commentary by Mark Creech Given an ultimatum, a county employee chose to quit her job instead of marrying her live-in boyfriend or moving out. The ACLU took up the woman's case, a judge ruled in her favor -- and the most egregious effect of the ruling was that it lowered a great moral standard.

...A Methodist immigration activist has holed up in a Chicago church with her son, seeking sanctuary instead of turning herself in for deportation to Mexico. Immigration officials say there is nothing stopping them from removing Elvira Arellano from Adalberto United Methodist Church and sending her back to Mexico. But they will not say how and when they plan to end the standoff. Arellano was deported once in 1997. Arrested again in 2002, she was convicted of working under a false Social Security number and was ordered to report for deportation on Tuesday. Instead, she moved into the church with her seven-year-old son, who is a U.S. citizen. Her pastor says church leaders prayed about Arellano's situation and have offered her sanctuary. [AP]

...What do Dairy Queen, Bridgestone Firestone, T-Mobile, and Alltel have in common? According to the Parents Television Council, all should be praised for deciding their advertising dollars will no longer be used to sponsor what the media watchdog group describes as "scenes of graphic rape and other explicit sexual situations, graphic violence, and obscene language." PTC is referring to the content of Rescue Me, a one-hour drama airing on the FX Network. Notes PTC president L. Brent Bozell, "These companies have publicly taken a stand to say that graphic rape scenes and brutal violence are not acceptable." And his group commends the companies "for recognizing that they share responsibility" for the content of TV programs. PTC reports that Dairy Queen has placed Rescue Me on their "do not air" list, and that Bridgestone Firestone will take actions to ensure its ads do not appear on programs with "such a level or profanity and content." Bozell is hopeful these companies' decisions will eventually influence other Rescue Me advertisers like Toyota and DaimlerChrysler, which have informed PTC they support such shows, despite the sexually violent content. Some corporations, says the PTC head, falsely assume that their ads during a particular show do not equate with their endorsement of the show's content. "That couldn't be further from the truth ...," he says. "Families are counting on advertisers to be responsible corporate citizens and to stand up to the television networks." Bozell contends those networks' sole purpose is to use revenue from advertising to "underwrite filthy programming." [Jody Brown]

...A homosexual pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) could be defrocked after revealing that he's in a long-term relationship with another man. Rev. Bradley Schmeling of St. John's Lutheran Church in Atlanta had revealed he was homosexual when he became pastor six years ago, but he was single at the time. The denomination only bans sexually-active homosexuals from becoming ministers. Schmeling said he had promised Bishop Ronald Warren that he would come forward if he entered into a relationship, which he did after spending two years with his boyfriend, Darin Easler, who is a former ELCA pastor. Warren asked the pastor to resign, which he refused to do, so the bishop has asked a disciplinary committee to decide whether they should revoke Schmeling's clergy credentials. A pro-homosexual group within the denomination reports that the St. John's congregation and church council are standing behind Schmeling and Easler, and that the church "held a party" when they announced their commitment to their homosexual relationship. [AP/Jody Brown]

...Roman Catholic authorities in South Africa are ordering their priests to stop moonlighting as witch doctors and fortune tellers. Reuters News reports some priests have adopted the traditional African practice of calling on the spirits of dead people in the belief they can help with such things as healing people. The Catholic bishops ordered the priests to "desist from practices involving spirits" and to steer clear from witchcraft, fortune-telling, and selling spiritual powers or magic medicines. [Fred Jackson]

...A pro-life advocate says whether a child is killed before or after birth, the wholesale slaughter of innocent children in the U.S. should be stopped. A Florida abortion business has been permanently shut down after it was discovered that a baby was murdered by clinic workers following a live birth in the facility's waiting room. Operation Rescue president Troy Newman says the way in which this child was killed is not surprising. He says the last thing an abortion mill wants is for a baby to be born alive. "You know, it is bizarre to think that ... a baby that can be literally dismembered in its mother's womb legally is afforded protection just moments later when it is accidentally born alive," says Newman. "You see, the abortion industry would rather have the mother die on the operating room table rather than have a baby born alive. [A live birth] is the worst complication in the abortion industry." Newman says the owners and operators of "A Gynecologists Diagnostic Center" in the Miami area should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. [Rusty Pugh]

...A spokesman for a Washington, DC, think tank doesn't believe the cease-fire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah will work. Ariel Cohen of the Heritage Foundation is uneasy about the cease-fire that has ended hostilities in Lebanon. "I submit that this is not the time for a cease-fire," exclaims Cohen. "When you are in the front lines of the war on terror and you're fighting the 'A-Team' of the terrorist camp, the last thing you do is stop before you finish the job." Shoshana Bryen of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs says the cease-fire agreement is just "on paper." She expects the cease-fire to be violated "many, many times -- and I don't really see how they're going to establish the kind of U.N. force they're talking about that might make a difference in southern Lebanon," Bryen adds. Critics of the cease-fire, Cohen and Bryen among them, say this cease-fire will allow Hezbollah and its supporters in Syria and Iran to declare victory and rebuild the terrorist structure that has been damaged thus far. [Bill Fancher]

...Student journalists at Florida State University will now be a part of the country's largest circulation newspaper chain. The student newspaper at FSU -- FSView & Florida Flambeau -- was recently purchased by the Tallahassee Democrat for an undisclosed sum. The Democrat is a daily publication owned by the Gannett Company, Inc. FSView publisher Jen Irwin says joining Gannett will provide incredible training opportunities for the paper's advertising, marketing, graphic design, and editorial staff. "We're going to continue to run the paper as we always have," says Irwin. "None of our customers or student readers will see any big changes. I think they'll just see small improvements here and there in the way our paper looks and the way it reads, but it will still be completely run by students." She says that was a major consideration of the sale. "We wanted to put out a good-quality product -- and we wanted to make sure, if anyone was going to take over the publication, they were going to maintain that same mission and wanting to educate the students and give them opportunities to grow and be successful within the industry," she explains. Gannett has those same ideas in mind, she says -- "and they can provide incredible upward mobility for anybody working here." Most college newspapers are owned and run by university staff, but FSU's student publication is independent of the university. FSView & Florida Flambeau has a circulation of 25,000 every Monday and Thursday. [Jim Brown]

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