WASHINGTON (AP) – Dozens of members of Congress have sent a second letter urging Vanderbilt University to change a policy that requires campus groups to let any student become a member or leader. Some Christian groups insist that their leaders must accept and follow biblical precepts. Vanderbilt officials say the school’s nondiscrimination policy applies to all student groups, but fraternities and sororities are exempt from the ban on gender discrimination. The congressional letter says religious student groups deserve a similar exemption to protect their religious identity. Governor Bill Haslam vetoed a bill that would have required Vanderbilt to exempt religious groups from its nondiscrimination policy.

COSTAMESA, CA. (ChristianPost) – Calvary Chapel founder Chuck Smith is considering his options for treatment of lung cancer after doctors recommended against surgery. Smith’s tumor had been reduced in size after undergoing radiation and chemotherapy treatment. But doctors say lung air capacity tests results were unfavorable. The 84-year old pastor is maintaining a schedule similar to before his diagnosis. He preaches at Sunday services, is teaching a mid-week Bible study and participates in his “Pastor’s Perspective” radio show at KWWE.

Prepared by Don Rupp – derupp@nwc.edu – 651-631-5031

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – The Kansas Senate has honored its longtime chaplain, who’s known for using humor and rhymed verse in his daily prayers, and concluding them with the words, “I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.” The Rev. Fred Hollomon, an 86-year-old Southern Baptist minister, plans to retire at the end of the current legislative session from the post he’s held for 31 years. Hollomon gives the state Senate’s daily invocations and serves as a spiritual adviser to its members. He served as a pastor for 50 years at eight churches, including congregations in Lawrence, Topeka, and Kansas City, Kan., ending in 2002.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Non-religious Americans are planning counter-events to this Thursday’s National Day of Prayer. The American Humanist Association has declared this Thursday as its National Day of Reason, with protests planned outside some government buildings that host prayer gatherings. National Day of Prayer events are typically supported by government proclamations. In a House floor speech, Oklahoma Congressman James Lankford said America “will only succeed as we continue as a nation that prays.” But California Congressman Pete Stark issued a statement supporting the National Day of Reason. He said it’s needed to “protect women’s reproductive choices, the integrity of scientific research, and our public education system from those who would hide behind religious dogma to undermine them.”

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WASHINGTON (AP) – The pastor of America’s largest church has spent this week in the nation’s capital preparing for a Saturday night event at the Washington Nationals ballpark. More than 40,000 people have bought tickets to hear Joel Osteen preach at what he calls “America’s Night of Hope.” The pastor of Houston’s Lakewood Church also has brought volunteers to help at facilities like the Capitol Hill Crisis Pregnancy Center, where church members spent Thursday folding baby clothes, painting and preparing pamphlets.

WASHINGTON (AP) – House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan says his Catholic faith helps guide him daily, including work to reduce federal spending and the growing government debt. His remarks at Georgetown University in Washington follow a letter from faculty members at the Jesuit-run school, charging that his 2013 budget blueprint neglects the poor while giving tax breaks to the wealthy. In his speech, the Republican lawmaker defended his approach as being in line with Catholic teaching, with a plan to help the nation’s poor rise out of poverty.

ATLANTA (AP) – One-hundred-and-fifty musicians from the Georgia Baptist Convention have returned from North Korea. The male-only chorus and orchestra, named the Sons of Jubal, performed at an arts festival and visited the north side of the demilitarized zone separating the communist nation from South Korea. Musical director Jon Duncan says that while tensions remain high between the U.S. and North Korea, as Christians they wanted to “extend a hand of goodwill and friendship.” The visit was organized by Global Resource Services, a non-governmental organization that arranged performances in North Korea by the Christian band Casting Crowns in 2007 and 2009

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UNDATED (MNN) – The Voice of the Martyrs has announced the passing of their executive director, Tom White. White led the ministry that helps support the persecuted Church, for more than 20 years. He worked alongside VOM founders Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand. He taught English in the Cayman Islands in the late 1970s, and made numerous airplane flights over Cuba, dropping hundreds of thousands of gospels tracts over the island nation. In May 1979, White’s private plane crashed on a Cuban highway after being caught in a storm. He was captured and sentenced to 24 years in prison, where he experienced brutal treatment from the secret police. Christians prayed and many letters and appeals for his release were sent to Fidel Castro from U.S. congressmen, Mother Teresa, and Christians around the world. White was freed from prison October 27, 1980. His Cuban prison experience is detailed in his book, God’s Missiles Over Cuba.

Prepared by Don Rupp – derupp@nwc.edu – 651-631-5031

WASHINGTON (AP) – “Blue Like Jazz” isn’t your typical Christian movie.  The film version of  Donald Miller’s book about a young Christian who goes off to a secular college, abandons his faith and finds it again opened in theaters this past Friday, earning an estimated $258,000 on its opening weekend.  Miller says “Blue Like Jazz” reflects the experience of many young Christians when they leave home and first face the world as adults. But its director, Steve Taylor, says the makers and distributors of successful Christian films have refused to support “Blue Like Jazz” because of concerns about its content, including the vandalizing of a church. Taylor doesn’t want “Blue Like Jazz” to be labeled a Christian film if that’s defined as a movie that’s “family friendly” or where all conflict is “tidily resolved.” He says the Bible itself would be a much shorter book by that standard.

Prepared by Don Rupp – derupp@nwc.edu – 651-631-5031

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A measure to allow teachers and other school workers to participate in prayer groups and other religious activities on school grounds has been signed by Tennessee’s governor Bill Haslam. The activities must be student-initiated and held before or after school.  Teachers can attend events in cases where a school may rent out its facilities to a church or faith-based organization.  The ACLU of Tennessee has said that events outside of school hours such as “See You at the Pole” are permissible under certain conditions, but public school employees must prevent the impression of endorsing religion.

PERRYSBURG, Ohio (AP) – A Christian megachurch in Toledo, Ohio is donating nearly $18,500 to charities to represent the attendance at services over the Easter weekend.  Lee Powell, senior pastor at CedarCreek Church, tells The Blade newspaper that the donations will be made monthly in 2012 as part of the new effort to donate $1 to charity for each person who attends service on select days.  Powell hopes to hold the program weekly in 2013.  The church has four locations, two in Toledo and one each in Perrysburg and Whitehouse.

UNDATED (FR) – This Saturday, Christians are being asked to pray for children who are between the ages of 4 and 14.  Global 4/14 coordinator Steve Kardjes says most children develop their spiritual and moral foundations during that age window in their lives.   There are 2.3 billion children on earth under the age of 15 and they represent the largest unreached group to Christianity in the world.  Research shows that nearly 85% of people who make a decision for Jesus Christ in the United States do so between the ages of 4 and 14.

UNDATED (FR) – International Justice Mission is asking Christians to pray for people around the world who are oppressed.  Lawyers, investigators and social workers work to rescue people out of abuse, trafficking and illegal detention. Over 1000 people will gather thru Sunday in Virginia near the nation’s capitol.  People of faith across the nation can join the prayer meeting on line at www.ijm.org.

Prepared by Don Rupp – derupp@nwc.edu – 651-631-5031

OAKLAND, CA (CBN) – About 100 people gathered to mourn the loss of the seven students murdered in last week’s shooting at a Christian college in Oakland, California. Police have said the suspect, One Goh, was targeting an administrator who had been involved in his financial dispute with the school. He began shooting in classrooms when he discovered that person wasn’t there. Oikos University has been holding daily concerts to remember the victims. The school focuses on serving Korean immigrants but the student body is made up of Christians from around the world.

UNDATED(FR) – A 7-year old boy from Missouri has made a big contribution to help malaria victims. Rhoda has telling Evan and his two brothers, Gideon and Lincoln, about the fact that malaria takes the life of a child every 60 seconds. She was preparing them for Malaria Sunday on April 25th, an event sponsored by World Vision. She told the boys that $6.00 would buy a bed net that could protect children from malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Evan and his two brothers emptied their piggy banks and each brought their mom $6.00 to buy an insecticide-treated bed net. But that wasn’t enough for Evan. He came up with the idea of putting together a lemonade stand to raise funds that could be donated to World Vision for bed nets. With the help of friends, family and students from Messenger College, where his parents work, Evan raised enough money to provide 400 bed nets for children at risk from malaria.

UNDATED (FNIF) – A coalition of 11 Christian student groups at Vanderbilt University issued a joint statement declaring they will not bow to administration pressure to allow non-Christians to hold leadership positions within their organizations. The university founded by Methodists is prohibiting religious groups from selecting religious leaders while simultaneously allowing fraternities and sororities to discriminate in selecting their leaders and members. Two Catholic groups “Vanderbilt Catholic and the St. Thomas More Society” announced they will meet off-campus rather than continue to fight the policy. Peter Valk, who represents the Vanderbilt Navigators says this solidarity movement was designed to make it clear that 12 groups would not be allowed to be on campus next year based on the current policy.

Prepared by Don Rupp – derupp@nwc.edu – 651-631-5031

BOSTON, MASS. (FNIF) – Administrators at Stallbrook Elementary School near Boston rewrote the lyrics to Lee Greenwoods song so children would sing “We Love the USA” but when parents started complaining the school changed its mind. On Thursday parents will hear the children sing “God Bless the USA!”

UNDATED (FR) -The theme of the National Day of Prayer this year is “One Nation Under God”. It’s scheduled for Thursday —May 3rd. John Borntsheen, Chairman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force, says, “It’s important to remember that the United States was founded as – One Nation Under God.” He says, “All 34 Presidents have called on Americans to pray — and 21 of the founding fathers used the term ‘Under God’”. Prayer is a part of our national heritage and citizens are still looking for God’s blessing on this country.

UNDATED (ChristianPost) -An online church draws around 100,000 viewers a week from over 120 countries. LifeChurch.tv is among many in the church community that are embracing the “communications revolution”. Pastor Bobby Gruenewalk says, “ChurchOnline does its best to build a church community in an online context…We have a church that meets in physical locations and buildings, but we also wanted to leverage this Internet technology to create and foster a Christian community online. We have been able to connect people to people.” LifeChurch.tv has been on the internet for six years.

Prepared by Don Rupp – derupp@nwc.edu – 651-631-5031

GEORGETOWN, Texas (AP) – New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow welcomes the attention to his Christian faith. Tebow told about 15,000 worshippers at an outdoor Easter church service in Georgetown, Texas, that it’s important for Christians to be outspoken about their faith and for athletes to be positive role models. Some at the “Easter on the Hill” morning service drove more 100 miles to hear Tebow speak. More than a 100 school buses shuttled people from six parking lots to the megachurch campus. Tebow sat for a 20-minute interview with the pastor, who joked, “In Christianity, it’s the Pope and Tebow right now. We didn’t have enough room to handle the Pope.”

WHITEVILLE, N.C. (AP) – More than 1,000 residents of Whiteville, North Carolina, have celebrated Easter by writing the New Testament in chalk on sidewalks. About 1,300 squares of concrete were labeled with Scripture references so each person could write his or her part. Fifty area churches took part in the project after a community sunrise service. Organizers say the goal was to bring Christian denominations together to mark the Christian holiday.

UNDATED (CBN) – Residents of Tornado-stricken areas in Texas and Indiana spent Easter Sunday giving thanks. Outdoor services were held at two locations for one Arlington, Texas, church. People packed St. Barnabas, one of the few churches still standing after the devastating storms. In Henryville, Indiana, the pastor of Rich Creek Church said, “What happened was horrible, but at some point you can’t keep looking back. There’s a new day…and Easter is a perfect example of that”. The Indiana congregation actually helped to rebuild a storm victim’s home. He is now a member of the church.

Prepared by Don Rupp – derupp@nwc.edu – 651-631-5031

UNDATED (CBN – The wife of American teacher Joel Shrum, who was gunned down in Yemen by terrorists in March, said her husband, “Lived in the reality that we are all created in the image of God and that nothing can separate us from the love of God.” Janelle Shrum told reporters that, “These truths were an inspiration for everything that he did.” The Yemen branch of al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack, accusing him of proselytizing in the Muslim Arab nation. The 29-year old had served as deputy director of the International Training Development Centre, a Swedish institute offering vocational and language training for Yemen’s poor in Taiz. He moved to the city in 2009 with his wife Janelle and their son Valen, who is now 4 years old. Their son Liam, 20 months, was born there. Shrum’s remains have returned to the United States. Memorial services are planned for Saturday, April 14 at the Evangelical Free Church of Hershey in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Police have identified the suspect in a shooting attack at a California Christian college as a 43-year-old Oakland man. Police Chief Howard Jordan said Monday that One Goh is in custody after surrendering at a shopping center about an hour after the shooting at Oikos University on Monday morning. Authorities say he was a former student at the Christian school. Seven people were killed, and three other injured when a gunman opened fire into classrooms.

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) – A state judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging North Carolina’s marriage license laws as a violation of religious liberties. The News & Record of Greensboro reports that Superior Court Judge Judson DeRamus issued his ruling Friday. The 11 plaintiffs, local ministers, area residents and Guilford County register of deeds Jeff Thigpen, say they will appeal the decision to the state Court of Appeals. The lawsuit asserts that no compelling reason exists for the state to require religious leaders or court magistrates to perform ceremonial marriages or for the state to require registration. It also says prohibiting religious leaders from solemnizing marriages of same-sex couples violates the U.S. Constitution and the principle of separation of church and state.

Prepared by Don Rupp – derupp@nwc.edu – 651-631-5031