Vision Christian Newswire

New Book, "Confessions of a Recovering Type A," Released on Amazon.com

2010-03-09T17:12:44Z

"Confessions of a Recovering Type A," now available on Amazon.com, provides an inside look at the guiles and glories of a classic, overachieving Type A who breaks away from her innate perfectionist ways to find a life full of fulfillment and purpose. Written by and based on the life of Wendy Bowen, a former investment banker and international socialite, "Confessions of a Recovering Type A" takes the reader through Bowen's personal transformation while dishing out a taste of religion soup.]]> New Street, Inc.'s newly released book, "Confessions of a Recovering Type A," (www.recoveringtypea.com) provides an inside look at the guiles and glories of a classic, overachieving Type A who breaks away from her innate perfectionist ways to find a life full of fulfillment and purpose. Written by and based on the life of Wendy Bowen, a former investment banker and international socialite, "Confessions of a Recovering Type A" takes the reader through Bowen's personal transformation while dishing out a taste of religion soup. The book is now available on Amazon.com for $19.95.

"My life has radically transformed in the past year or so," said Bowen. "I went from working with the elite on Wall Street to socializing with world leaders in Denmark to finding ultimate happiness in a relationship with God. Yes, I said it. The 'G' word. And, never having characterized myself as a devout religious person, I knew it was an experience I needed to share with others."

The book leads with an over-the-top perspective of a Type A's state of mind. One page in and readers will have a grasp of where they fall on the Type A scale, either by laughing in agreement or squirming from Bowen's brutal honesty. The journey continues as classic behaviors are defined and dissected and real-world case studies are shared, eventually revealing how to relinquish control and abandon Type A convictions through a balance of religion and spirituality. Each of the three sections of the book -- A to the Nth Degree, To A or Not to A, and A New Life -- prepares and equips readers for their own purposeful breakthroughs.

"I'm not telling you to go off and be a monk," said Bowen. "I'm encouraging you to embark on a journey to finding the best you, and being the most you you've ever been."

About New Street

New Street is a non-profit organization with a mission of inspiring positive change through spreading the good news and the loving application of compassionate conservative values. New Street is the home of "Confessions of a Recovering Type A" and the Recovering Type A message. Our vision is for modern generations with old-fashioned values, and our purpose is to equip today's generation with the tools of triumph.

Haiti Frees Second to Last U.S. Missionary; Still Holds Leader

2010-03-09T17:07:58Z

One of two Baptist missionaries still held on kidnapping charges in Haiti was released and flew to Miami on Monday, but the U.S. group's leader remained in custody. ]]>

Charisa Coulter, 24, was taken from her jail cell to the airport by U.S. Embassy staff more than a month after she and nine other Americans were arrested for trying to take 33 children out of Haiti after the earthquake.

Coulter, wearing a red tank top and sunglasses, declined comment as she quickly got into an SUV that took her to the Haitian airport, where she caught a flight back to the United States.

Coulter's father said his daughter arrived in Miami late Monday and went straight to a hotel.

Mel Coulter said her release brings a mix of joy and sorrow knowing that the leader of the Idaho-based missionary group, Laura Silsby, will be spending the night all alone in a Haitian jail.

"It is good news, but it's tempered," Coulter said. "We're really happy to have our daughter back on American soil. But Laura is still there. So this is really only completing part of the journey for the two of them. My daughter has left her best friend behind."

Silsby, 40, said she was glad about Coulter's release.

"I'm very happy that she left today, and for her freedom, and expect mine to come soon," Silsby told The Associated Press as she left the courthouse where a judge held a closed hearing Monday. She was returned to her cell in a police station near Port-au-Prince airport.

Defense lawyer Louis Ricardo Chachoute said Coulter was released because there was no evidence to support the charges of kidnapping and criminal association. He predicted Silsby would be released soon as well.

"There are no prosecution witnesses to substantiate anything," Chachoute said.

Coulter, of Boise, is a diabetic and had medical difficulties during her confinement. She was treated at least once, on Feb. 1, by American doctors after collapsing with what she said was either severe dehydration or the flu.

After a court hearing Monday for Silsby, Judge Bernard Saint-Vil said he heard evidence from a police officer who said he stopped Silsby from loading a bus with children near the Dominican Republic consulate in Port-au-Prince on Jan. 26. That was three days before her group was arrested while trying to cross into the Dominican Republic with 33 children.

"I found inconsistencies in some of Laura's statements," Saint-Vil told reporters, saying he planned to visit the Dominican consulate to resolve them.

The Dominican consul in Haiti, Carlos Castillo, has said previously that he warned Silsby she lacked the required papers to leave the country with the children and risked being arrested at the border for child trafficking.

The Americans' arrest came as Haitian authorities were trying to crack down on unauthorized adoptions to prevent child trafficking in the chaos following the catastrophic Jan. 12 earthquake.

Silsby initially said the children were orphaned in the quake that the government said has killed more than 230,000 people. But the AP found the children had been given away by still-living parents.

Chachoute said the Americans only came to Haiti to help the country. "Firstly, there was no criminal conspiracy; secondly, there was no child snatching," he said.

The Baptist group planned to take the children to the neighboring Dominican Republic to an orphanage that Silsby was creating in a former hotel.

The judge released eight of the Americans on Feb. 17 after concluding parents voluntarily gave up their children in the belief that the Baptist group would give them a better life. But he decided he still had additional questions for Silsby and Coulter.

Source: AP

Billy Graham Is Still Writing and Counseling

2010-03-08T14:07:15Z

Rev. Billy Graham has retired from preaching, but the 91-year-old evangelist is still writing books and offering spiritual counsel to callers and visitors. ]]>

Rev. Franklin Graham says his father has spoken on the phone in recent months with President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush, and was visited by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. "He's not offering political advice, but he will offer spiritual advice to anyone who comes to him," says Franklin. "He's in pretty good health. His mind is just as sharp as a tack."

The younger Graham says his father recently finished updating his 1992 book Storm Warning, and is currently working on another book, but slowly -- typically an hour of work followed by a nap.

Billy Graham's glib father-son advice, according to Franklin, was: "Don't get old."

Source: AP

Strong Earthquake Hits Turkey; 57 Killed So Far

2010-03-08T14:05:37Z

A powerful earthquake in eastern Turkey on Monday buried villagers as they slept in mud-brick houses, killing at least 57 and injuring dozens more, officials said.
(Pictured: People search for bodies among the ruins.) ]]>

The quake, which measured 6.0 on the Richter scale, struck at 4:32 am (0232 GMT) at a depth of five kilometres, with an epicentre near the Karakocan town in Elazig province, the Istanbul-based Kandilli observatory said.

Rescuers struggled to dig survivors from the rubble after the quake tore down mud-brick houses in several mountainous villages in the mainly Kurdish area, killing whole families in their sleep.

Visiting the region, Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek put the death toll at 57, adding that more than 50 people were injured.

At least four of the dead were children, official said, and nine of the injured were in critical condition.

"It started shaking -- first slowly and then violently. I was terrified and began crying... The cupboard fell over and then the television set exploded," said Zeynep Yuksel, a teenage girl in the worst-hit village of Okcular.

A total of 18 people perished in Okcular, a Kurdish settlement of some 900 people, nestled in hills at a height of about 1,800 metres (5,900 feet).

Wrapped in blankets and cuddling babies, women wailed around a bonfire as Red Crescent workers began erecting tents and distributing food and other emergency supplies to survivors.

"I rushed out after the tremor, looked to one side and saw nothing, then looked to the other side -- again nothing. Everything had collapsed," said a middle-age woman, who did not give her name.

"I pulled out the two kids from the rubble with bare hands. They were both dead," said the woman, who lost a sister-in-law and two nephews in the quake.

Villagers scrambled to recover any valuables from the debris, and some left for nearby towns to take shelter with relatives.

About 30 houses were destroyed in Okcular alone, Yasar Cagribay, head of a rescue team, told CNN Turk.

The quake also killed many livestock, the main livelihood for the village.

In nearby Yukari Demirci, 13 people were killed, among them a family of nine.

The villages of Yukari Kanatli, Kayalik and Gocmezler were also seriously hit.

"Villages consisting mainly of mud-brick houses have been damaged, but we have minimal damage such as cracks in buildings made of cement or stone," provincial governor Muammer Erol said.

The local hospital was inundated with the injured, the CNN Turk news channel said, adding that medical reinforcements and aid had been sent.

The tremor, felt also in the neighbouring provinces of Bitlis and Diyarbakir, sent residents out onto the streets in panic. They spent the night outside fearing new shocks, CNN-Turk said.

Major earthquakes are frequent in Turkey, which is crossed by several active fault-lines.

Two powerful tremors in the heavily populated and industrialized northwest claimed about 20,000 lives in August and November 1999.

Source: Sebnem Arsu, The New York Times

BCNN1/BCBC National Bestsellers List - March 2010

2010-03-08T02:43:59Z

Bestselling authors, Michelle Singletary (The Power to Prosper--Nonfiction) and ReShonda Tate Billingsley (The Devil Is a Lie--Fiction) lead the pack of black Christian authors on the March 2010 edition of the Black Christian News/Black Christian Book Company National Bestsellers List. ]]>
All of the books that BCNN1/BCBC rank, which is a list of over 300 Christian books written by African-Americans, with the exception of a few, are on Amazon.com. About 30 of the Christian books written by African-Americans are not on, or are not ranked on BarnesandNoble.com, indicating that they are not selling through BarnesandNoble.com. In order to have a fair bestsellers list, BCNN1/BCBC want to encourage all authors and publishers to make sure their books are sold through BarnesandNoble.com, as well as Amazon.com and BlackCBC.com.

SPECIAL NOTE: It has come to our attention that a few of the books that have been ranked on the BCNN1/BCBC National Bestsellers List were written by authors who do not profess faith in Christ and who were not at least striving to live according to the Word of God. To all of our friends, authors, and publishers, please do not feel as though you are "hating on," tattling on, or gossiping about anybody, if you let us know that a particular author does not profess to be a Christian and that his or her lifestyle does not presently reflect Biblical principles and Christian values. With that said, we do understand that there are people who write good books that espouse Biblical principles that we agree with, and this is the spirit in which we included these authors. But we at BCNN1 and BCBC only want to promote books where the author is a Christian and the book glorifies Christ first and foremost. If you see a book ranked that does not line up with that, we want to encourage you to let us know. Please feel free to remain anonymous if you would like.

The next BCNN1/BCBC Bestsellers List will be published on Monday, April 5, 2010.

BCNN1/BCBC National Independent Publishers Bestsellers List - March 2010

2010-03-08T02:40:36Z

John MacArthur Tells Christians Not to Fornicate with the World

2010-03-06T16:55:47Z

"The church, if it is to be anything, it is to be absolutely distinct from the culture, absolutely distinct from the world, absolutely distinct from unbelievers," said prominent author and evangelical pastor John MacArthur.

]]>

Speaking from the pulpit to thousands of fellow pastors at the Shepherds' Conference, MacArthur underscored the biblical command not to be yoked with nonbelievers and to be a separated people.

"Paul demands a total break," he said Wednesday at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, Calif., citing the apostle in the New Testament.

MacArthur, author of Ashamed of the Gospel: When the Church Becomes Like the World‎, grew up in a fundamentalist environment. At that time, the word "separation" was a big word on the evangelical word list. Fundamentalists built high walls in terms of church conduct and relationships, he explained. If those walls or lines were crossed, the violator was vilified.

Even MacArthur was a victim of the highly separatistic fundamentalism. He recalled being stripped off of about 55 radio stations in one day when they felt he was behaving outside their parameters.

The fundamentalism back then was cruel and unbiblical, he said. And it was so cannibalistic that it consumed itself and disappeared.

But MacArthur feels there needs to be a "biblical (not traditional) understanding of separation" among Christians today.

"I think we are very much aware of the fact that there is a distinction between being a Christian and being a non-Christian," he said. "I don't think much of evangelicalism understands that. I think the line between a true Christian and a false Christian is significantly blurred."

As Apostle Paul made clear to the Corinthians, MacArthur noted, Christians cannot live in both worlds - the world of righteousness and the world of unrighteousness, light and darkness, Christ and Satan.

Two millennia ago there were believers who blended Christianity and paganism with the intent of trying to make Christians more palatable and popular and less narrow, offensive and exclusive. It's the same picture today as churches "import all the styles of the culture into the holy life of the church," MacArthur lamented.

Such blending simply validates the culture and confuses the church, he pointed out.

"There's so many of these, whatever they are, they're not churches. They're events on a Sunday with a standup speaker who's got charisma. They don't understand the church," he said. "I'm not against evangelism but don't call it a church."

A church, he defined, is a group of people who have come to Christ and separated themselves from Satan's system. It's a redeemed community of believers, he added, and not an event open "to anybody and everybody where you accommodate the world at the expense of the spiritual life and maturity of the church."

"You can't marry the church to the culture," he said. "Don't fornicate with the world."

Separating from the culture and from nonbelievers does not mean isolating oneself, MacArthur made clear. When Paul called for a clean break he did not say to avoid nonbelievers or to not share the gospel with them.

Rather, he called the church to be "an absolutely separate entity from anything that defines or describes the belief system or the behavior of the society," the popular author stressed.

MacArthur went on to denounce interfaith or multifaith efforts.

"The issue here specifically relates to harnessing believers and unbelievers in any common religious spiritual enterprise," he explained. "True Christians have to separate from all of that ... all matters related to ministry, related to Scripture, related to doctrine and related to worship, right?

"Those who do not confess Christ truly, do not affirm the true Gospel have no place participating in any enterprise that intends to advance God's purpose and God's kingdom in the world."

At the end of his hour-long message, MacArthur explained to pastors that he simply wants to be obedient to God's word and enjoy His favor.

"I'm not by nature this narrow-minded kind of separatist who wants to chew up and spit out everybody who crosses the lines that I draw," he said. "But I just want above all things in my life to obey the Word of God."

"How ungrateful would I be to the God who has taken up residence in me ... and in His church ... and who has literally poured out endless promises to flagrantly disobey?" he noted.

"He called you to Himself. ...What do you owe in return? You owe obedience to Him and honor."

The Shepherds' Conference kicked off on Wednesday and will continue through Sunday. As stated on the website, the mission of the conference is to provide the opportunity for men in church leadership to be challenged in their commitment to biblical ministry and to find encouragement as together we seek to become more effective servants of our Chief Shepherd.

SOURCE: The Christian Post

Lillian Kwon

The Wonderful Wisdom of Marriage

2010-03-05T15:35:11Z

Rightly understood, marriage is all about permanence. In a world of transitory experiences, events, and commitments, marriage is intransigent. It simply is what it is - a permanent commitment made by a man and a woman who commit themselves to live faithfully unto one another until the parting of death. ]]>

That is what makes marriage what it is. The logic of marriage is easy to understand and difficult to subvert, which is one reason the institution has survived over so many millennia. Marriage lasts because of its fundamental status. It is literally what a healthy and functioning society cannot survive without.

And yet, modernity can be seen as one long attempt to subvert the permanent - including marriage. The modern age has brought the rise of individual autonomy, the collection of populations in cities, the weakening of family commitments, the waning of faith, the routinization of divorce, and a host of other developments that subvert marriage and the commitment it requires.

Added to this list is the phenomenon of cohabitation. The twentieth century saw the phenomenon of cohabitation become the expectation among many, if not most, young adults. But the end of the century, the progression of intimacy (including sexual intimacy) was likely to follow a line from "hooking up" to cohabiting.

A new study conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics suggests two very important findings: First, that cohabiting is now the norm for younger adults. Second, cohabiting makes divorce more likely after eventual marriage.

Click here to read more

Source: Christian Post | Albert Mohler

State of Michigan Eyes Winans Family Members in $11M Scheme

2010-03-05T15:34:20Z

Hundreds of investors in the Detroit area and elsewhere in Michigan lost as much as $11 million to a Ponzi scheme involving a Saudi Arabian crude oil bond scam connected to Michael Winans Jr., according to state regulators.

]]>

The Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation said that it has determined that Winans Jr. was the ringleader of a multilevel scheme that used the family name and connections in the Detroit religious community to prey on church members.

State regulators said that pastor Michael Winans Sr. also may have been one of the promoters.

OFIR found that Winans Jr., his subordinates Desmond Weems, Latonya Garth and Michael Winans Sr., and a number of related business entities violated the state's Uniform Securities Act and the agency ordered them to cease and desist from the sale of unregistered securities products.

OFIR determined the individuals were not licensed to sell securities products in Michigan and the products sold were not registered with the state.

"We believe that the Winans family Ponzi scheme ran its course at the end of 2008," said OFIR Commissioner Ken Ross in a conference call this morning.

"There are few winners here outside Mr. Winans Jr.," he said.

SOURCE: Freep.com

Susan Tompor

Black Methodist Churches Reveal Their "Male Investment Plan" to Help Young Black Men Overcome

2010-03-05T15:31:02Z

PICTURED: Thousands gather at the Carolina Coliseum in Columbia, S.C., for the March 1-3, 2010, Great Gathering. The African Methodist Episcopal Church, the AME Zion Church and the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church united in a collaborative effort to address what they consider the "plight" of African American males.]]>

Three historic black denominations on Wednesday unveiled a new national plan aimed at keeping their young males out of prison and in school and church.

The churches are calling it the Male Investment Plan and have pledged to fund it annually with $10 million.

"Together we can do this!" Senior Bishop John R. Bryant of the African Methodist Episcopal Church told some 5,000 people in Columbia, S.C., according to The State newspaper.

For the first time in more than 45 years, the AME Church, the AME Zion Church and the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church have united in a collaborative effort to address what they consider the "plight" of African American males.

Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund, outlined some of the grim statistics on blacks and imprisonment and called it the biggest crisis for the African Community since slavery.

She shocked the crowd when she said more African Americans are in the American correctional system than were enslaved in 1850, as reported by The State.

"A black boy, if he is born today, has a one in three chance of going to prison in his lifetime; a black girl, a one in 18 chance. This is a disastrous figure," Edelman said, according to CNN. "Our prisons are filled with black fathers and black mothers, and we have got to turn it around, and we have got to break this cycle."

Hundreds of thousands of black children, she noted, are trapped in a "cradle to prison pipeline."

Edelman was addressing members of the three black Methodist denominations and other guests during the March 1-3 event called the Great Gathering at the Carolina Coliseum.

Coming out of the event, the Rev. Dr. Staccato Powell, pastor of Grace AME Zion Church in Raleigh, N.C., and chairman of the gathering, told The Christian Post that African Americans may witness the social ills in their community on a daily basis but when they realize that it is not just their community being "bombarded by ... the same degradation" then they gain a "whole different understanding of the magnitude of it all."

Powell has deemed the Great Gathering a success, saying that it exceeded everyone's expectations.

"It went exceptionally well," Powell commented Thursday. "It was a kairos moment and God was in the midst."

"The numbers were great, the spirit was phenomenal and we came out with a consensus around a concrete course of action. We're pleased with fact we have a plan in place. The challenge is execution but we're confident we will do that well."

While black churches have consistently addressed such social ills, which also include poverty and low academic achievement, Senior Bishop George W.C. Walker, Sr. of the AME Zion Church noted earlier that they have come together to renew their commitment.

The Male Investment Plan is designed for black males ages 5 to 25 and will address their needs, specifically in the area of the economy, education, health and spiritual enrichment. Churches will conduct "Saturday Academies," where participants will be partnered with mentors and attend various workshops that focus on: reading skills, high school retention, job preparation, prison prevention, self esteem, family counseling, and biblical principles concerning male leadership, among other topics. Periodic tours of local colleges will be included during the program.

The goal is "to dramatically change the lives of our participants by exposing them to the awesome gifts given them by God."

The initiative will be phased in over time in 13 regions across the country, beginning with the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area (May 2010).

Bishop Warren Brown, AME Zion Chair of Bishops, said Wednesday, "We are going to leave this place united and committed, and I know it's going to be a success because all of you here are going to do your part to make it work."

President Barack Obama also sent a video message of encouragement.

"As members of the black Methodist community, you know the challenges we face as Americans and you know the challenges the African American community faces in particular," he said. "You also know that through unwavering determination and steadfast faith each of us can rise above them (struggles) and help our brothers and sisters do the same.

"In the face of overwhelming odds you've always known that together we have the power to build a better world for the next generation. This historic meeting is the next chapter in that incredible legacy and I promise you that my administration will continue to work ... to address the serious challenges that confront us."

The three Methodist denominations have a combined membership of more than 5 million. They will partner with local, regional and national organizations to get the programs running and spread the word through local churches, the media and the Web.

After an "appropriate period of time," Powell said the churches will likely gather again to evaluate progress. They will also have to come together in the future to see if they're going to "take serious the move of the spirit of God among us" - the move being the agreement made by the leadership of the three denominations to work together as the black Methodist coalition.

SOURCE: The Christian Post

Lillian Kwon

WATCH: Benny Hinn Speaks Regarding Divorce

2010-03-04T16:46:47Z

PASTOR BENNY HINN

Dear Partner,

I come to you with a broken heart.

You may have heard by now that my wife, Suzanne, whom I love very much and always will, filed for divorce on February 1. Even though Suzanne has been under great stress, the children and I never expected this to happen.

]]>

Divorce was the last thing on my mind and theirs.

Click Here to Watch Pastor Benny Hinn's Personal Message.

It was a total shock when her lawyer called me the morning of February 17 to inform me that she had filed 16 days before. Suzanne never gave the family even a hint that this was on her mind. Even to this moment, the children and I don't know why she did it.

Neither did her parents know, until I told them myself on the 17th.

As I said earlier, I love my wife, and I am praying that the Lord Himself will take care of this and bring healing to my precious family.

I also want you, my very dear partner, to know that there was absolutely no immorality involved in my life or in Suzanne's, ever. We both kept our lives clean and were totally committed to each other for 30 years of marriage.

My wife has no biblical grounds for what she has done.

We both have kept our covenant with God and stayed pure before Him, and I am praying with all my heart that our precious Lord Jesus will heal my family and protect His work for His glory.

I want you, as my partner in this ministry, to know that I am going to continue preaching the Gospel and praying for the sick as I have for 36 years. I will not allow anything to slow me down or stop me.

My commitment to my precious Jesus is forever, and nothing will ever change that. I know He will protect His precious name, and glory and honor will be given to Him forever.

And now I ask you, as my partner whom I love and appreciate very much, to pray for Suzanne, for our family, and for me, that the Lord will strengthen us and keep us, and that His will be accomplished in our lives always.

My precious children, whom I love very much--Jessica, Natasha, Joshua, and Elesha--and I thank you for all you have done and continue to do for the glory of our precious Redeemer and Savior, Jesus, God's precious Son.

In closing, I want you to know that my children and I are doing well. I am going to pray and do everything as a dad to make sure that my children and my grandchildren fulfill their destinies in God and bring glory to the name of Jesus all the days of their lives.

Thank you again for your prayers and support...

I love you very much,

Benny Hinn

Homosexual Marriage Legalized in DC

2010-03-03T15:12:15Z

Chief Justice John Roberts of the Supreme Court rejected on Tuesday a request from opponents of gay marriage to put on hold a new law that allows same-sex couples to wed in Washington, D.C.

]]>

Roberts acted right before the law takes effect on Wednesday. In December, the city council adopted a measure which adds the nation's capital to the five states that already allow same-sex marriage.

Opponents of gay marriage argued there should be a public referendum on the law, which expands the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples, before it takes effect.

Roberts refused to put the law on hold and said the local Board of Elections, the city's superior court and its court of appeals all had rejected the request for a referendum.

Roberts said the Supreme Court's practice has been to defer to local court decisions on District of Columbia matters of exclusive local concern. Roberts also said the U.S. Congress has allowed the law to go into effect.

All local legislation in the District of Columbia, home to 590,000 people, must undergo a mandatory 30-day review period by Congress before it can become law.

The states of Massachusetts, Iowa, Vermont, Connecticut and New Hampshire already allow same-sex marriage.

City officials have said that Wednesday probably will be the first day same-sex couples can apply for a marriage license.

SOURCE: Reuters

Reporting by James Vicini, Editing by Sandra Maler

Haitian Judge Likely to Release Two American Missionaries This Week

2010-03-02T15:36:36Z

A Haitian judge says he will likely order the release of the last two Americans detained for trying to take 33 children out of the country after the earthquake. ]]>

Judge Bernard Saint-Vil tells The Associated Press he expects to resolve the case after a hearing Tuesday.

Saint-Vil said Monday he plans to have missionaries Laura Silsby and Charisa Coulter in court for the closed hearing. He will also take testimony from people who were helping them set up an orphanage in the Dominican Republic.

The judge says he is close to being able to resolve the case and will probably order the release of Silsby and Coulter.

Eight other Americans detained with them have already been released.

Source: AP

Many Spring Break Students Dedicating Their Time to Haiti

2010-03-02T15:35:49Z

Spring break is officially in session at many schools in the United States. But this year, thousands of students will hit Florida's beach with something else on their mind other than soaking in the sun. ]]>

More than 2,500 Christian students from across America are expected to attend one of five week-long outreach events hosted by Campus Crusade for Christ as part of their annual "Big Break" conferences.

Between Feb. 28 and April 3, participating college students will join forces on Panama City Beach to not only help prepare and pack meals for 1 million Haitian earthquake victims, but also to share their faith and recruit other students on the beach to help.

"I'm hearing from students around the country who are excited about this opportunity to help ease the suffering in Haiti in a tangible way," said Mark Gauthier, national director of the U.S. campus ministry for Campus Crusade for Christ. "I'm thankful for both the students and for the thousands of partners whose generous gifts will help pay for the meals and the shipping costs."

Click here to read more

Source: Christian Post | Jennifer Riley

In DC, African-Americans Are Crucial to Homosexual Marriage Debate

2010-03-02T15:35:13Z

Gay and lesbian couples will soon be able to marry in Washington, but the debate over same-sex marriage has sounded different here, with references to interracial marriage and Martin Luther King.

]]>

Over the past year, both sides have courted the support of Washington's black community, a majority of the city's 600,000 residents and one traditionally perceived as opposed to same-sex marriage.

"In D.C., outreach to African-Americans wasn't part of the campaign. It was the campaign," said Michael Crawford, the leader of a pro-same-sex union group, D.C. For Marriage.

Crawford, who is black, said other residents weren't ignored, but his group and others weighed the city's racial makeup in planning their message. That made the debate here different than in other places that have considered gay marriage - places like California, where about 7 percent of residents are black, or Maine, where 1 percent are. Voters in both states struck down gay marriage laws.

In Washington, gay couples are expected to be able to apply for marriage licenses beginning Wednesday - but opponents are still challenging it in court.

To speak to voters in D.C., supporters drew parallels to Martin Luther King Jr.'s advocacy for equal rights. They said same-sex marriage bans would one day seem as ridiculous as the interracial marriage bans overturned by the Supreme Court in 1967. Opponents, meanwhile, and ran an anti-gay marriage ad on the radio station of Howard University, a historically black college. And both sides worked hard to curry favor with black leaders and churches.

"What's been different here is how aggressively they've come after religious leaders, how aggressively they have talked up the race issue, or I should say the civil rights issue," said Bishop Harry Jackson, a black pastor who has led opposition to the measure.

Getting black voters' support for gay marriage wasn't necessarily easy. A widely used exit poll conducted for The Associated Press during the 2008 election found 70 percent of black California voters approved of a measure banning gay marriage, compared with 49 percent of white voters. A poll in Florida, where residents voted on a similar issue that year, had comparable support from black voters, who make up about 16 percent of the state's population.

Black supporters of gay marriage in Washington disputed those numbers and argued that black voters were unfairly blamed for pushing the California measure to success. Opponents have argued the numbers were true and relevant, suggesting that D.C. voters would certainly reject gay marriage if given the opportunity.

But lawmakers, not voters, legalized gay marriage in Washington, and the measure always had the support of black D.C. Council members. Five black members on the 13-member council ultimately supported it, though the only "no" votes came from two black members in heavily black districts.

Even without a public vote, however, supporters and opponents held rallies and testified before the council. Mayor Adrian Fenty, who is bi-racial, signed the bill in a church in December with his parents looking on, saying they married when some places barred interracial marriage.

It wasn't the only time a church played a central role in discussion of the measure. Jackson, who led opposition to the measure, came to council meetings and court hearings wearing a black suit and clerical collar. His group drew up a list of religious leaders opposing the measure.

Supporters countered with their own list and a group of religious leaders co-chaired by the Rev. Dennis Wiley, co-pastor with his wife of the 500-member Covenant Baptist Church in the city. Wiley said clergy's support was crucial because congregants often look to the church for guidance when it comes to gay marriage.

"The first question many black people ask is, 'What does the Bible have to say about it?'" Wiley and his wife wrote in an opinion published by The Washington Post in December.

For now, the debate has quieted, though opponents are still pushing for the issue to go before voters. If it does, the same appeals to black residents will likely begin again.

SOURCE: The Associated Press

Jessica Gresko