People and Events

Arson attacks on southern US black churches prompted a study by the Associated Press. A review of six years of data found that arsons are up at both black and white churches, but that this year's toll of fires is within the range that insurance industry experts expected, based on past years. The size of the increase could be attributed to the relatively small number of church fires in a typical year and to a few night's work by a few arsonists. Moreover, conspiracy or racial hatred are implicated in fewer than 20 of the 73 black church fires recorded since 1995. There is evidence that racism was a motive in 12 to 18 fires, but black suspects have been named in nine cases, and six other fires were part of multiple arson attacks that included both black and white churches. In fact, in Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Virginia, fires at white churches have increased more than fires at black churches since 1995. Other fires have been attributed to drunken teens, Satanists, burglars and firefighters. 18 church fires have been set in the weeks since President Clinton first highlighted the issue, suggesting that some of the recent attacks are copycat crimes. According to the National Fire Protection Association, church fires have been steadily dropping since 1980, when 1,420 were recorded. In 1994 there were 520 church arson attacks nationwide. The fact that churches are often isolated and frequently empty makes them a prime target for arsonists; 30% of all church fires are attributed to arson--twice the average rate for structural fires in the US. Some of the suspects for recent black church burnings: a "troubled" 13-year-old girl whose motive was hatred of Christianity, not racism; a black man who was a gang member and may have been motivated by an argument with his church-going girlfriend; 2 Ku Klux Klan members in South Carolina who have confessed; a 32-year-old man who was upset because a woman who belongs to the church refused to go out with him; a white lawnmower repairman whose former home near the church contained racist slogans--he had previously complained to police saying the church "played music and beat drums" until late at night; a homeless black man in Selma, Alabama who set fire to a church because he was upset with a member of the church; and a black church member in Marshall, Texas, who set fire to his church, then helped put it out as a volunteer fireman. Meanwhile, US president Clinton designated $6 million to be used by local police to combat church burnings. The US House of Representatives passed a bill by a vote of 422-0 that doubles federal penalties for burning a church. Of the 350,000 churches in the US, 65,000 are primarily black attended.--
Evangelical Press News Service

Al Menconi , founder of Menconi Ministries, is holding a music seminar Oct. 2 at Bethany Bible Institute in Hepburn, Sask. Menconi, who is based in San Marcos, Calif., is known for his seminars which explain the influence of popular music and media on the Christian home and church. His mandate is to present a "balanced, responsible, biblical approach that teaches seminar participants how to think, not what to think."--
Bethany Contact

Turkey has a religious-based government for the first time in that nations's 73-year history--a coalition led by the Welfare Party. The Welfare Party has called repeatedly for revision of the Turkish constitution, which now strictly prohibits the state from being based on any religion, but has softened that stance since coming to power. Prime minister Necmettin Erbakan, 69, said he would like to maintain links with the West, but stressed that his administration would step up relations with the rest of the Islamic world "with which we have spiritual and historic links". Turkey's tiny Christian and Jewish communities have adopted a wait-and-see attitude toward Welfare's dominant role in the newly formed government.--
Compass Direct

Gerald Gerbrandt has been appointed next president of Canadian Mennonite Bible College in Winnipeg, a college of the Conference of Mennonites in Canada. He replaces John H. Neufeld, who retires in June, 1997. Gerbrandt has been on the CMBC faculty since 1969, serving as academic dean for 12 years. This past year he was interim president of Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Ind. A 1967 graduate of CMBC, he has an M.Div. from AMBS and a Ph.D. in Old Testament from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Va.--
CMBC release

Mennonite lawyers plan to bring their association under the umbrella of Mennonite Economic Development Associates. The Mennonite Lawyers Association, founded in 1980, will operate as a member segment of MEDA and will hold its gatherings in concert with or prior to MEDA's annual conventions. The first joint meeting is slated for the fall of 1997.--
MEDA release

US President Clinton's Telecommunications Act of 1996 , which prohibited "patently offensive" sexual material on the internet, was overturned by the US District Court in Philadelphia recently. The three-judge panel ruled that the internet is "the most participatory form of mass speech yet developed in this nation, [and] deserves the highest protection from government intrusion". The Justice Department promises to appeal the ruling.--
Entertainment Today (quoted in Youthworker Update)

66% of US teen mothers had children by men who were at least 20 years old, according to a study by the Alan Guttmacher Institute. A 1990 California survey indicated that the younger the mother, the older the father; among 11- to 12-year-old mothers, the father was an average of 10 years older. A 1992 Washington State study found that 62% of 535 teen mothers had been raped or molested before they became pregnant. The offenders' average age was 27.4 years. In Canada in 1994, men aged 20-29 fathered 10,964 babies by girls aged 15-19; 4,482 were sired by youths aged 19 and under. The age of consent for sexual activity was lowered from 18 to 14 by the Canadian government in 1987.--
Newsweek (quoted in Youthworker Update), Western Report

The pattern of church conflict and division was the subject of a recent study conducted by professors Bruno Dyck and Fred Starke of the University of Manitoba. They studied 22 Protestant congregations in North Dakota, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and northwestern Ontario. Originally, only 11 congregations had existed, but all the groups studied experienced internal conflict leading to the formation of a breakaway congregation. The professors say the frequent success of breakaway congregations can be a good model for new businesses. They say that the "mass exit behaviour" that occurs in some churches closely parallels certain businesses in which a group of employees leave a company to form their own venture. Some of the parallel characteristics include dissatisfaction with the existing congregation's method of doing things; the existing congregation's refusal to accommodate changes; and strongly held common beliefs.--
University of Manitoba

The insurance industry in the US is demanding that churches institute screening and supervision processes for prospective youth workers. If churches refuse to comply, insurance most likely will not cover any liability. The policy applies to paid staff and volunteers. Since 1992, approximately 3,800 cases of church sexual abuse have been reported in the US. Insurance companies recommend that churches conduct police checks on employees and volunteers working with children; never allow one adult alone with one child; and require that child workers serve six months before being given responsibility with children. Two-thirds of US churches don't screen their youth workers. 45% of US churches do not have liability insurance for sexual abuse. The average court settlement for sexual abuse is $1 million; the largest was $10.3 million. 4% of churches have been accused of sexual abuse. Volunteers are charged most often (43%) followed by paid staff (36%) and other children (21%).--
Kansas City Star (quoted in Youthworker Update)

One in five American adults suffers from some form of mental illness (including anxiety disorders, clinical depression, schizophrenia, etc.) during the course of each year.--
Newsweek (quoted in CT&T)

Mennonite Disaster Service has been active in coordinating rebuilding efforts at Mt. Zoar Baptist Church, in Boligee, Ala., one of over 30 black churches burned in the past 18 months. This church was chosen as an aid recipient because it had the least resources with which to rebuild. Over 250 MDS volunteers have helped rebuild the church since May. Dedication for the new building is planned for Sept. 8.--
MDS

Mennonite Central Committee's bomb-clearing program in Laos, which began two years ago, has since attracted the attention of the media and government, resulting in increased awareness and funding for bomb-removal in the region. MCC raised $1.5 million towards its bomb-removal program. The US military has since set up a school to train deminers. The United Nations has also established a special fund for demining in Laos which exceeds $7 million. MCC's formal contract with Mines Advisory Group, the British humanitarian agency that has been its clearing partner in Xieng Khouang Province, ended this summer. MCC is exploring the possibility of sponsoring clearing and community awareness programs around 12 villages in Hua Phan Province where MCC has ongoing health, education and agriculture programs.--
MCC

According to the Internal Revenue Service in the US, pastor Moses Williams of Columbia, S.C. was paid about $500,000 last year, and deserves a tax refund cheque of $93,282.56. Williams actually earned about $25,000 as pastor of a small church. But when Williams tried to return the cheque, he was initially told that the cheque was right. Though Williams has been praying for money to build a church, he says he'll continue his effort to return the cheque. When he gets his real refund cheque of about $300, he plans to take his wife and three children to Disney World.--
EPNS

A Slovenian man became infected with the AIDS virus after being bitten by an HIV-positive neighbour, doctors reported June 21. It is the first documented case of someone getting AIDS from a human bite. According to an article in the Lancet, a British medical journal, the man tried to help his homosexual neighbour, who was having a seizure. The man put his hand in the neighbour's mouth to keep him from swallowing his tongue, and was bitten. Doctors say the AIDS patient had bitten his tongue and had blood in his saliva. The man was given AZT to prevent infection, but was diagnosed with AIDS in about a month. "This case shows that HIV transmission is possible from a bite," doctors wrote.--
EPNS

Pastors are increasingly using commercial marketing principles to attract new members to their churches as access to demographic information becomes easier. Both the Southern Baptists' Steve Whitten and Nazarenes' Rich Housel agree that the best areas for a new church are expanding communities (new homes) with high birth rates. Such communities are often bursting with boomers and busters who are ready to return to church for the sake of their children. Another church planner lists music, parking, signage and quality child care as the most important factors in attracting newcomers. According to writer Marc Spiegler, however, the senior "market" is virtually untapped. "Some churches shy away from ministry to people over age 55 because they are notoriously hard to convert." Charles Arn, president of Church Growth in Monrovia, Calif., advises that "seniors avoid dramatic changes in lifestyle", yet many evangelists insist on a 180-degree turnaround in lifestyle; conversion should therefore be presented to seniors as a process rather than a "single climactic event". Only about 20% of the 367,000 congregations in the US actively pursue strategic planning.--
American Demographics (quoted in Current Thoughts & Trends)

Billy Graham's five-day Greater Twin Cities Crusade at the Metrodome in Minneapolis shattered attendance records, drawing 95,000 people--including 25,000 watching a Jumbotron screen outside--to Graham's final crusade, which included music by Amy Grant. A special youth program on Saturday featured a "Concert for the NeXt Generation" with dc Talk and Michael W. Smith which drew 82,000 people. This was Graham's fourth crusade in the Minneapolis area, which has served as headquarters to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association since it was founded in 1950.--
BGEA

The Defense of Marriage Act , which would define marriage as the union of a man and woman in US federal law and would allow states to refuse to recognize same-sex unions legalized by other states, has been passed by US House of Representatives. The legislation is seen as a preventative measure as the US awaits a Hawaii court decision on whether to allow state recognition of homosexual unions on par with marriage. The Act still needs to be passed by the US Senate.--
Family Research Council

The Cathar Church (also known as the Assembly of Good Christians) is considering abandoning its centuries old position by becoming a full-fledged denomination. The Cathars were a heretical medieval sect which attracted a considerable following in southern France until a Catholic crusade slaughtered many of the Cathars in the 14th century. However, a handful survived, and there are now 20,000-25,000 worldwide. They define themselves as a "pre-Reformation peace church with practices similar to that of the Amish and Mennonites". The Cathars, who formalize their decisions based on consensus reached by local assemblies and meetings, plan to model their transition after the Lutheran Church Canada, which became a denomination in 1988.--
Cathar Church

Ten Protestant churches were attacked and destroyed in the southern Indonesian city of Surabaya on June 9 by Muslim mobs as Christians gathered for Sunday worship services. There were no deaths, but there were many reported injuries, and hundreds were threatened with further violence. According to a report by Open Doors Philippines, more than 5,000 Muslims took part in the riots. One eyewitness reported that the attack on Bethel church in Jalan Bulak Banteng was preceded by a shout of "Allahu Akbar" (God is great). 83% of Indonesia's 200 million people are Muslims.--
Compass Direct

Michael English , the multiple Dove Award-winning Christian recording artist whose career was destroyed by adultery, was charged with assault and theft recently by his ex-girlfriend. According to the magazine CCM Update, Tina Wilmurth, with whom English had been living for five months, said in an affidavit that English "became enraged and started chasing me down an alley. I was in fear for my safety." Wilmurth also said English changed the locks to the couple's apartment, preventing her from retrieving her property. Later, Wilmurth said she planned to drop charges, and emphasized that English did not strike her. But Wilmurth's friend Kimberly Furman also filed charges and does not plan to drop them. She says that English was "very drunk" at the time.--
EPNS

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