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Many of us remember Mac Brunson, the former pastor of Green Street Baptist Church in High Point and a past president of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina who is now the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Fla.  An anonymous blogger who criticized   Brunson has sued police and state prosecutors for revealing his identify to the church even though an investigation showed he had done nothing illegal.

The man and his wife were then banned from the church.

The man was apparently uncovered after a church member who is a sheriff's deputy and part of Brunson's security detail, launched an investigation.

Criticism of his evangelical beliefs has caused Francis Collins, the new president of the National Institutes of Health , to proclaim, "I want to reassure everyone I am here to lead the NIH as best I can, as a scientist."

Wells Memorial Church of God in Christ invites the public to participate in a 9/11 patriotic salute from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. today. The event features flags, music, meditation, poetry, prayer, and scriptures with a diversity of participants and denominations.

An evening service at 7 p.m. will feature Mother Arlie Boone of Winston-Salem; guest choir, Rev. George Pass and NEW; and guest speaker, Evangelist Joyce Rodgers of Dallas.

Following the Patriotic Salute to 9/11, the church will host its annual Prayer & Life Clinic during the entire week of Sept. 13. A delegation of ministers and religious leaders from Africa will help lead this year’s session: “An International Odyssey to Africa.”

For 23 years, Wells Memorial has hosted hundreds of prayer leaders from across the country every Sept. for a week of continuous meditation, music, poetry, Bible study, seminars, scriptures, and praise dancers, culminating with a Saturday Prayer Breakfast.

The public is invited to participate at Wells Memorial Church of God in Christ, 1001 East Washington Street, in Greensboro. The coordinator of these special programs is Rosanne Roberts and the pastor is Dr. Herman Platt. Contact the church by calling (336) 272-6564 or email wellsmem@bellsouth.net.

"Cry Out America" is calling Americans in every county to gather united and pray for the nation at noon today, the anniversary of 9/11.

The following is from Linda Stone, the group's Guilford County coordinator:

We will be gathering on Friday, September 11th - 12-1pm on the Governmental Plaza on Greene Street in Greensboro. Please plan to join us and if you are interested in helping with planning this prayer event - please contact me via email or Phone me daily - 218-8660 x 238 - 9-5.

Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the Lord your God, and Cry Out to the Lord - Joel 1:14

So, the coach takes high school players out for steaks and an encouraging word, and the night ends with eight or nine of them baptized. Should the coach and the superintendent, who happened to be there, be reprimanded, or were these kids old enough to make up their own minds about wanting to have a relationship with Jesus?

UPDATE: Sorry for the missing link. It's back.

"Yes, granted, there’s nothing in the Bible about caring for the sick by rendering unto Caesar, but if it’s a choice between that and letting millions of people go without treatment, what’s the more Christian-y option?"

 In a story about church properties on the market, I mentioned a plaque attached to the organ at Asbury UMC with 'C. Warner Stamey' on it.An email from Suzan Antin tells the rest of the story on how it got there:"The organ at Asbury Church was donated by the Stamey family (of Stamey's Barbecue) when the congregation was known as Trinity United Methodist Church. That congregation built the Asbury facility and was there for more than 20 years. It split up when its longtime pastor, Roy Putnam, was reassigned by the Methodist conference. Some congregants remained and formed Asbury with congregants from another church. Others left and formed Trinity Church, which was led by Roy. Roy's son, Marc Putnam, is now the pastor of Trinity Church on Friendly Avenue."  

Is that biblical?

The top-selling Bible in North America will undergo its first revision in 25 years, modernizing the language in some sections and promising to reopen a contentious debate about changing gender terms in the sacred text. The New International Version, the Bible of choice for conservative evangelicals, will be revised to reflect changes in English usage and advances in Biblical scholarship, it was announced Tuesday. The revision is scheduled to be completed late next year and published in 2011.

Children as young as four understand that a prayer is qualitatively different than a wish – that it's a special kind of conversation between them and God.