Charisma News Service

Service Briefs

The following reports were released during the last month by Charisma News Service. Go to our Web site at www.charismanews.com to access full-length versions of each day’s stories. The site also includes a search engine so you can access archived news.

CBS ACCUSED OF ‘RELIGIOUS BIGOTRY’ A conservative media organization has accused CBS of “religious bigotry” for failing to take action after The Early Show host Bryant Gumbel insulted a Christian organization spokesman on air. Gumbel had concluded a testy interview June 29 with the Family Research Council’s Bob Knight when the camera accidentally returned to the TV host as he got up from his desk, muttering, “What a [expletive] idiot.” The gaffe sparked a storm of protest–including a demand for Gumbel’s firing. The Media Research Council called CBS’ response that Gumbel’s “casual remark” was unclear “dismissive and disingenuous” in open letters July 13 in The New York Post and The Washington Times.

ROMANIAN CHRISTIANS REPENT FOR COUNTRY’S SINS Hundreds of Romanian Christians gathered to repent of the sins that they say have kept the country crippled a decade after its liberation from communist rule. Members of Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist and Pentecostal churches joined in a two-day conference in June that ended with joint confession and prayer for God to heal their land. The meeting was held at the Romanian Parliament building, formerly home of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. Roughly 1,000 people attended the conference, which was coordinated by World Vision Romania.

FORMER L.A. LAKERS HOME MAY BECOME WORSHIP CENTER Faithful Central Church in Inglewood, Calif., is in talks to buy the Los Angeles Forum for $23 million and turn it into a major Christian conference and entertainment center, The Los Angeles Times reported. If the deal goes through, a hotel and conference center would be built alongside the 17,500-seat venue, which was home to the L.A. Lakers until it was sold in 1999. The proposed
project “allows us to reach out into the community…to provide economic development and jobs,” said Bishop Kenneth C. Ulmer, who leads the 8,000-member congregation.

COLORADO SCHOOLS TO DECLARE ‘IN GOD WE TRUST’ Another court fight over the separation of church and state is likely to follow Colorado education leaders’ decision July 6 to urge schools to post the slogan “In God We Trust.” The state’s Board of Education voted 5-1 to adopt the recommendation proposed by Chairman Clair Orr, who said that it was intended to celebrate national heritage, traditions and values. The move was strongly criticized by opponents who claimed it was an attempt to slip religion into schools. Sue Armstrong, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, told the Associated Press that legal action would probably be taken when the message was posted.

FIRST WOMAN BISHOP ELECTED IN COUNTRY’S OLDEST BLACK CHURCH

Vashti McKenzie became the first female bishop to be elected in the 213-year
history of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), the oldest black denomination in the country. McKenzie, who pastors 1,400-member Payne Memorial AME Church in Baltimore, joins 18 other bishops who lead the 2.3 million-strong denomination, which has churches in Canada, England, Africa and the Caribbean, as well as the United States. Seventy percent of the membership is female.

IT’S TRUE: R-RATED FILMS ARE BAD BUSINESS

More than half the movies released in the last decade were rated R, but R-rated films are less than half as likely as PG releases to gross $25 million domestically, according to a study by Arthur De Vany, a professor at the University of California, Irvine. No R-rated movies made the top 10 grossing films of all time. Titanic (PG-13) heads the list, followed by Star Wars, Star Wars Episode 1 and E.T., all rated PG.

Bob Knight

Other stories featured on the Charisma News Service Web site:

* Record-Breaking Jesus Movie
Translated into 600th Language

* Ohio Pastor Refuses to Let Interracial Couple Marry

* Texas Pastor Pays Poor to Attend

His Church

* South Carolina Sheriff Questioned About Departmental ‘Tithe’ to Church

* Poll Shows Church Still Among ‘Most Segregated Hours in America’