The Charlotte Atheists and Agnostics placed billboards in six North Carolina cities, including one along the Billy Graham Parkway in Charlotte.  That sign, according to The Charlotte Observer, pictures an American flag and the words “One Nation Indivisible” — omitting the words “Under God,” which were added to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954.

William Warren of Charlotte Atheists and Agnostics says placing the billboard along the parkway is not a criticism of the evangelist. He says the Billy Graham Parkway was simply the most visible location the North Carolina Secular Association could afford in Charlotte.  The billboards are a July Fourth project to show that atheists and agnostics can be patriotic.

As you can see, however, vandals corrected the sign in an overnight sting!

The House of Prayer First United Pentecostal Church in Thibodaux, Louisiana has been selling fireworks in their church parking lot since 1994.  This year, the church plans to use money from fireworks sales to pay off debt on its building, which was once owned by Lowe’s. In the past, money raised from fireworks sales has also been used toward mission work in foreign countries.

The fireworks sold this season could bring the church as much as $15,000-20,000 after taxes, said Ronnie Melancon, pastor for more than 25 years. He expects the church to be debt free by the end of this year.

One church member said this about the church: “We’re really fun-loving and we enjoy life.  We’re not a cult. We just love Jesus…and fireworks.”

By the way: for those who are concerned about mixing the message of Jesus with potentially unsafe fireworks, the church offers parents the option of buying bags with safer fireworks specifically designed for younger children!

According to a poll from the Pew Research Center For The People and The Press/Smithsonian Magazine, the next 40 years are looking bright to most Americans.  By 2050, 71% believe that cancer will be cured, 66% say artificial limbs will work better than real ones, and 81% believe computers will be able to have conversations like humans.

“LeBron James should agree to a three year contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers to play for one dollar each season,” says Benek.  He says that the one dollar salary would allow the Cleveland Cavaliers to sign some other all star players, and LeBron could help bring a championship to Northeast Ohio.

Benek also believes that this act of generosity would show Christians that serving others is not about money, it’s about giving up what would obviously make life better on earth, for a chance to receive the grace of God in heaven.  Not too sure how biblically accurate it is to connect LeBron giving up his salary with a chance for him to receive God’s grace in heaven, but Benek did it nonetheless.

Benek says that if LeBron agrees to the one dollar per year salary that he will also agree to give up his salary from the church and serve for one dollar per year.  LeBron will be fine if he does this because of the millions he receives in endorsements each year.  However, I doubt Pastor Benek has that kind of extra cash coming in.  I sure hope he ran this past his wife before he made this declaration.

I guess I wasn’t aware that preaching about and to your favorite sports teams and players was acceptable.  Now that I’m aware, I’m planning a summer sermon series entitled: “Why, O Why Did You Do That, Big Ben?”  It will be a challenge to Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger to give up partying at college bars for three years so that he’ll stay out of trouble and become an even greater quarterback.  If he agrees to give up the college bar scene, then I’m prepared to give it up as well.

Join me each Sunday this summer at 9AM.  Steelers jersey optional.

And then last September, she came out of hiding, moved back to the U.S., and decided it was time to record a new album (which is being released today).  Not only did she come out of hiding; she also came out of the closet, confirming what some had suspected to be true for years that she was – in fact – gay.  In a recent Christianity Today interview, Jennifer said, “I’m certainly in a same-sex relationship now, but when I suspended my work, that wasn’t even really a factor. I had some difficult decisions to make and what that meant for my life and deciding to invest in a same-sex relationship, but it would be completely unfair to say that’s why I left music.”

In one of her recent blog posts, she writes, “I share my life with a woman. I have approached this relationship with gratitude, joy and humility. I am honored to have the support of my loving family, a caring partner, friends and people of faith who have accepted me as I come, while encouraging me to become who I am meant to be.”

As would be expected, Jennifer’s “coming out” has been met with many questions about how she justifies her faith with her sexuality.  In a recent interview with Relevant Magazine, she said that the concept of homosexuality has “always sat a little bit uneasy with me, for one reason or another.”  She goes on to say, “I’ve experienced a fair cross section of people in my life that has made me less concerned with what particular point I might label or call a sin.”

“As a Christian,” she continues, “I’m doing that as best as I can. The heartbreaking thing to me is that we’re all hopelessly deceived if we don’t think that there are people within our churches, within our communities, who want to hold on to the person they love, whatever sex that may be, and hold on to their faith.

In an interview with The Advocate, which is a gay and lesbian news magazine, Jennifer says that she no longer feels like being gay and being Christian are in opposition, even if others do. “I’m quite comfortable to live with parts of myself that don’t make sense to you,” she says.

And I guess this is where I struggle.  I do hurt for her and for others who confess Christ while also struggling with their sexuality.  I can’t imagine the pain, frustration, and confusion they must suffer.  However, it seems from Jennifer’s words that she is no longer struggling.  It seems that she has found a place where living as a Christ-follower and as a lesbian can comfortably co-exist.  She no longer seems to be interested in engaging in the tension, and while I understand her desire to land somewhere outside the tension, I also feel sad for her.

My sin is just as bad as hers.  I struggle with horrible things like anger, lust, spiritual apathy, and pride – just to name a few.  And as much as I wish that I could be “comfortable” living with these things as a Christian, I can’t.  I can not allow myself to get to the point where I let these things comfortably exist in my life.  I must continue to live in the tension, and continue to fight daily to put off the sin which so easily entangles me.

Funny how Jennifer’s lyrics from a song on her first album come to mind: “Time to get down on my knees and pray, ‘Lord, undo me!’  Put away my flesh and bone ’til You own this spirit through me.” It seems as though she’s given up doing this, and for that, I am sad.  I also see this as a clear warning for me in my struggle with sin.  If I stop praying that the Lord would empower me daily to put away my flesh and allow His Spirit to fill me, there – but for the grace of God – would I go too.

#1: “Charlie Bit Me!”

#2: Evolution of Dance

Click here for the Time.com list.

I’ve read more than once about Denzel’s strong faith in Jesus Christ.  Here’s a portion of an article from The Christian Post about his faith:

“I believe that Jesus is the Son of God,” he says. “I’ve been filled with the Holy Spirit. I know it’s real. I was in the room. My cheeks blew up, I cried like a baby, and it scared me to death. It kind of scared me off it. I backed up and went the other direction, to be honest with you. I didn’t know what was going on. It was too strong. It has taken me many years to come back around.”

Sitting in his house recently, reading the Bible (he’s on his third time reading the whole thing straight through), Washington came across a passage about wisdom and understanding in Proverbs 4, which made him reflect on his life.

“I’m in this big house with all this stuff,” he observed. “I’ve heard that saying, ‘You never see a U-Haul behind a hearse.’ You can’t take it with you. The Egyptians tried; they got robbed. I said, ‘What do you want, Denzel?’ And one of the devotional words that day was wisdom. So I started praying on that. ‘God, give me a dose of that.’ I can’t get any more successful. But I can get better. I can learn to love more. I can learn to be more understanding. I can gain more wisdom.”

So, in light of his open confession of faith in Christ, I had one burning question for him:  “Why on earth did you take the sinister and vulgar lead role in the movie Training Day?“  He won an Oscar for his performance as an LAPD narcotics detective, but his character was so foul and so corrupt that I could hardly watch.  In light of his faith, I was shocked that he took the role…and shocked at how convincing he was.  Ever since watching the film in 2002, I’ve wondered what possessed him to play such a dark and vile character.

Well, two days into Jasmine’s trip, my cell phone rang.  Jasmine was on a bus headed to her next event.  She didn’t have much time to talk, but I could tell that she was excited.  She just couldn’t wait to tell me what had happened.  “I not only met Denzel,” she excitedly said, “but I also asked him your question!”

I was a bit taken back.  I was kidding when I told her that she should ask the question, and I wondered what Denzel thought having just met this 17 year-old girl and being asked such a confrontational question.  “Wow!” I replied.  “What did he say?”

She said that he looked her in the eyes and said, “That is a very good question!”  He proceeded to tell her that occasionally he will take roles that are dark and sinister as long as they portray evil as being truly evil (not glorified and not heroic), and as long as in the end, evil loses and good prevails.  He said that the original script of Training Day had his character surviving, but he told the director that the only way he would take the role is if his evil character dies in the end.  And if you saw the movie, you know that his character’s death was brutal and final.  Evil lost in the end.

I recently watched American Gangster, a movie in which Denzel plays yet another sinister character.  I was watching to see if he would stay true to this philosophy, and sure enough, he did.  His character didn’t die in the end, but he did go to prison for many years and then came out a changed man.

Hats off to Denzel.  His tactics may make some Christians a bit uncomfortable, but he’s a purposeful actor who is trying to make a difference in Hollywood.

Click the link below and watch as a new star was born today in Albuquerque.

SWAT SITUATION IN ALBUQUERQUE

According to an article in yesterday’s Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, this kind of texting is considered “multitasking” by many teens today and should not be considered offensive by the rest of us.

“I can survive without responding to texts, (but) I simply don’t see the necessity of not answering,” one young person was quoted as saying.  The article revealed that some professors and school administrators were stunned that students couldn’t understand why texting during class, or in the middle of a face-to-face conversation, would be considered disrespectful.

Another student said, “One of the most important things we want to get across to professors is that we’re not ignoring them when we’re texting.  We’re still listening. We’re still taking notes. We’re just doing something urgent.”  But not all students agree.  One young person said, “I think it’s disrespectful.  It’s distracting to other students if you hear clicking. It disrupts the whole class.”

So, what’s do you think is acceptable?  Are we “old farts” making too big of a deal out of this, or are we on to something?  When is it appropriate to text and when is it not?