McCain, Obama to meet at church. In a direct effort to court people of faith, John McCain and Barack Obama will make their first joint appearance of the presidential campaign at California pastor Rick Warren's Saddleback Civil Forum on Leadership and Compassion. They will field questions from Warren for one hour each. “The primaries proved that Americans care deeply about the faith, values, character and leadership convictions of candidates as much as they do about the issues,” Warren said. “While I know both men as friends and they recognize I will be frank, but fair, they also know I will be raising questions … beyond what reporters typically ask.”
Heisman winner off Playboy lineup. After winning college football's highest honor, University of Florida star Tim Tebow won't appear on Playboy's pre-season All-American team because the magazine conflicts with his Christian beliefs. Tebow, who last year became the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy, comes from a family of missionaries and is a devout Baptist. Tebow has made annual trips to the Philippines, where his father runs an orphanage. This year, he went on three overseas mission trips.
Dobson reaches Hall of Fame. James Dobson's 32-year Focus on the Family Daily radio show will become the first religious program inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. Members of the “national active” category broadcast currently and have “at least 10-year history of significant contributions to the industry on a national level.” Dobson's broadcast went on the air in 1977, “calling for a return to conservative, Christian values.”
Hagee won't endorse again. Texas megachurch pastor John Hagee declared he's through endorsing candidates for political office. John McCain rejected Hagee's earlier endorsement after comments surfaced in which the Christian-Zionist pastor denigrated the Catholic Church and suggested the Holocaust was God's plan to push Jews back to Israel. “What will I say the next time I am asked to endorse a presidential candidate? Never again!” Hagee told supporters.
Lutherans sorry for persecution. The Lutheran World Federation is asking forgiveness from Anabaptists for 16th century persecution, including torture and killings. The statement seeking forgiveness is expected to be ready for the federation's 11th assembly in July 2010. The federation represents 68 million Lutherans in 141 member churches in 17 countries.
Gay man sues Bible publishers. A gay man is suing two Christian publishers, claiming their versions of the Bible that refer to homosexuality as a sin violate his constitutional rights and caused him emotional pain and mental instability. Bradley LaShawn Fowler of Canton, Mich., is seeking $60 million from Zondervan and $10 million from Thomas Nelson Publishing. Fowler, 39, alleges verses in the publishers' Bibles referring to homosexuality as a sin have made him an outcast from his family and contributed to physical discomfort and periods of “demoralization, chaos and bewilderment.”
Compiled from Religion News Service