Churches and Church Leaders Making Headlines

A LITTLE BIRD TOLD US TO SHARE

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Gossip is everywhere. It shows up in newspapers, magazines, television shows, e-mails -- even in the Church. But according to Lori Palatnik and Bob Burg, co-authors of Gossip: Ten Pathways to Eliminate it from Your Life and Transform Your Soul, the keys to quieting the rumor mill are right inside the Bible. They are:

1. Speak no evil.

2. Hear no evil.

3. Don't rationalize destructive speech.

4. See no evil.

5. Beware of speaking evil without saying an evil word.

6. Be humble, avoid arrogance.

7. Beware of repeating information.

8. Honesty really is the best policy.

9. Learn to say you're sorry.

10. Forgive.

According to Palatnik and Burg, there are laws based on Biblical tradition that govern how we use our speech. Those regarding their transgression are called lashon hora, a Hebrew term that literally means "evil speech."

"These laws clearly outline when one is forbidden to speak about another, when one is obligated to speak about another, and when one is allowed or forbidden to repeat information," they write. Other laws concern lies, gossip, slander and other such uses of speech. "Lashon hora is considered one of the greatest of all Biblical transgressions and has created a world of conflict, strife and hatred," they add.

Gossip is available for $9.95 from major booksellers.

SPREADING THE WORD AT WAL-MART

EPHRATA, Pa. -- Reading the Bible from cover to cover could take years -- or, as one Pennsylvania youth group recently found out, it could take 33 hours. It just depends on your motivation.

For Youth Leader Lou Strangarity of Evangel Assembly of God in Ephrata, Pa., the inspiration to head up a 33-hour Bible-reading marathon was divine. Strangarity says he had had a prophetic dream not long before organizing the outreach. What he saw was an answer to his long struggle to find ways to unite his unique congregation made up mostly of people 75 or older and teens.

"It's very difficult sometimes to build those bridges," Strangarity says. "And to be honest, Wal-Mart wasn't part of my dream, but we were reading the Bible outside, in public."

Soon after, more than 50 youth groupers, their leaders and fellow church members took their places in front of the local Wal-Mart Supercenter with a PA system, lots of hot food and coffee and their Bibles. Having obtained permission from the store's management (Wal-Mart was founded and is still owned by a Christian family), the group read through the entire Bible individually and in teams from 3 p.m. until midnight the next day.

Surprisingly, Strangarity says not one person complained to the store management or to the church team itself. Although not everyone's reception was warm, none were chilly either.

"Nobody scoffed or snickered," he says. "A few people wouldn't come near, but they didn't make contortions or say anything. They just made a beeline to the side."

On the other hand, Strangarity points out that many people showed definite interest.

"I was expecting a few to come up and swear, or some kids to harass our kids, or the management to come out and say they'd had a complaint," he says. "Instead we had numerous people from other churches -- and other people who were unchurched -- tell us what a good idea it was. To me, that was cool."

Without any visible signs to indicate they were collecting money, the group also took in about $200 for its missions fund. Even the local media got involved when a news station aired a three-minute clip on the outreach. ("We didn't even ask them to!" Strangarity says.)

The event was especially meaningful to Strangarity himself, who had attended his father's funeral that morning. "I didn't really want to be there that day," he says. "My mind was somewhere else. But it was amazing; by the time I'd gotten there and stayed for a few hours, God just used it to bring some kind of healing. It shifted my gears a little bit."

FAMILY-FRIENDLY AND FROZEN
Christian couple, pastor launch new line of entrées

HOLLAND, Mich. -- With some studies reporting that pastors work an average of 80 hours per week, family dinners can be few and far between. Jack DeWitt, president of Request Foods, and his wife Mary Ellen set out to make the most of those dinners -- and hopefully spark more of them -- with their new line of frozen prepared entrées, Mary Ellen's Blessings at Home.

Each of these nine family-size Mary Ellen's entrées includes a blessing for the meal and a sharing activity provided by Dan Seaborn, president of Winning At Home (www.winningathome.com) and an international speaker, author, radio commentator and pastor whose credits include Focus on the Family and Promise Keepers. This inspirational concept -- providing prayer and table talk with the meal -- originated from Chef Bubba of Dallas, Texas, after reading The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson.

"We always wanted our family to be together at dinner time; it's where many of life's lessons are learned," DeWitt says. Mary Ellen agrees and says that God has always been top priority in her life. "My prayer is to bring honor to Him through new ideas," she says. "The vision that Jack and I have is to bring today's busy families back together to share the blessings of a home-cooked meal and the fellowship of each other's company."

Mary Ellen's Blessings at Home are currently available exclusively at Wal-Mart Supercenters.