Bethel College , in St. Paul, Minn. was served with a lawsuit in fall, 1996 by a former student who is represented by her attorney parents. The suit alleges the school breached biblical and Christian standards by allowing certain courses to be taught. They further alleged that the school breached its contract by falsely representing itself as a Christian school while representing itself as a non-sectarian institution to other publics; that it engaged in "racketeering activity" by using the mail and wire to publish false information, i.e., that it is a Christian college; and that a film shown in a classroom contained child pornography. In a full-page response published in the April, 1997 edition of The Standard (the magazine of the sponsoring Baptist General Conference), president George K. Brushaber says the college is rooted in Christian tradition, adn will continue its commitment to the liberal arts, "including the appropriateness of dealing with difficult issues of culture, oppression and sexuality for a Christian perspective where there are clear educational purposes".--
The Standard

In 1968, the typical member gave more than 3% of his or her income to the church. By 1994, the typical member gave 2.5% of income, a drop of 21%.--
Your Church (from a study by the empty tomb, inc.)

About one in three American men claims to be a born-again Christian, but only 28% attend church on any given weekend, according to pollster George Barna. Of American Christian men, 28% deny that Jesus was physically raised from the dead, 27% say He committed sins, 55% agree that all people "experience the same outcome after death, regardless of their beliefs" (only 50% of non-Christians agreed), 39% believe that "a good person can earn their way into heaven", 47% believe there are absolute moral truths, and 40% believe that the Bible and religion should be primary influences on moral thinking.--
Evangelical Press News Service

The Mennonite Church has 176 women ministers, 7% of the 2,397 ministers and bishops, according to the Mennonite Yearbook. The General Conference Mennonite Church has 79 women pastors out of a total of 531 pastors (15%). The US MB Conference has 13 women in associate pastor roles, 5% of its 269 pastors.--
Mennonite Weekly Review

In a 1995 Louis Harris poll , 1,502 American women were asked, "If you had enough money to live as comfortably as you'd like, would you prefer to work full-time, work part-time, do volunteer-type work or work at home caring for the family?". About 31% chose caring for the home and family first, 20% chose volunteer work, and only 15% chose full-time work.--
Insight (quoted in Current Thoughts & Trends)

Ralph Reed announced April 23 that he will resign in September as director of the Christian Coalition, a powerful political lobby group in the US. Reed plans to establish a political consulting firm called Century Strategies to help pro-life conservatives win public office. Under Reed's leadership, the Christian Coalition grew to 1.9 million dues-paying members in nearly 2,000 chapters, and saw its budget climb from $200,000 US in 1989 to $27 million in 1996.--
EPNS

A Mennonite Economic Developement Associates retreat for seniors called "Transitioning: Building Bridges to the Retirement Years" is being held Sept. 4-7 at the Lake Doniphan Retreat Center, Excelsior Springs, Missouri. Information is available from Jan Buerge at 1-800-665-7026.--
MEDA

The brutal murder of six year-old pageant star JonBenet Ramsey has raised suspicion about the pageant system, popular in the US. About 3,000 pageants feature the preteen-and-under set every year. While proponents say the pageants are about teaching poise, detractors say they teach children to act seductively and be competitive and self-absorbed. Organizers of large contests clear at least $100,000 US in profits per pageant.--
Time (quoted in YouthWorker Update)

From 1960 to 1990, the percentage of children living apart from their biological fathers in the US doubled from 18% to 36%. The estimate for the year 2000: 50%.--
Reader's Digest

"My Two Homes: The Divorce Calendar for Kids" ($16.95 US) provides two markers and 444 colourful stickers that say "Mom" or "Dad", so that kids of divorced parents can mark the dates they'll stay at second homes.--
San Diego Union Tribune (quoted in YouthWorker Update)

Organizations that profited from a pyramid scheme run by New Era Philanthropy have agreed to pay $41 million US to help compensate groups that lost money in the scam, according to a trustee for the bankruptcy estate. New Era approached hundreds of Christian ministries and other non-profit agencies, promising to double their money by matching them with anonymous donors. However, early investors were paid with funds contributed by later investors, and the pyramid collapsed when the foundation could no longer find enough new recruits to meet its obligations. The founder later admitted that there never were any anonymous donors. The $41 million is in addition to $30 million initially surrendered by securities firms and a $15-18 million settlement expected to be reached with Prudential Securities Inc. Total losses in the New Era scheme have been estimated at $100 million. John G. Bennett Jr., the former head of New Era, pleaded no contest in late March to 82 counts of money laundering and fraud. Bennett faces a maximum prison sentence of 907 years and a fine of $28 million.--
EPNS

The Manitoba Colony , an Old Colony Mennonite group in Mexico, has lifted its long-held ban on motorized vehicles and rubber tires. The move comes as at least 17 members "not in good standing"--many under discipline for decades--asked for forgiveness from the leadership for breaking colony rules by driving vehicles during past years. The reconciliation could set the stage for addressing the economic, educational, social and spiritual shortcomings that have plagued the Old Colony. Now, leadership and formerly banned members can cooperate in starting a credit union, a senior citizens' home and a home for people with developmental disabilities.--
Mennonite Weekly Review

On a typical weekend , around 46% of American women will attend a religious service, whereas only 28% of American men do.--
Pastor's Weekly Briefing (quoted in CT&T)

According to a federal government report on prostitution , 66% of prostitutes have been physically assaulted while working, with 44% requiring medical attention; 70% of prostitutes are raped by customers an average of 8-10 times annually; 80% of prostitutes' clients are married men; 96% of prostitutes interviewed had become prostitutes before age 18. The government discussion paper's recommendations included that penalties for clients and pimps be increased; that clients of juvenile prostitutes be charged with child abuse; and that more outreach services be established for prostitutes who need protection or want to leave the sex trade.--
Evangelical Fellowship of Canada

China's policy since 1979 of limiting families to one child has had some of its intended effect in slowing population growth. However, since most families believe it is better to have a boy, there has been widespread "female infanticide, death by neglect in orphanages and selective abortion following gender determination by ultrasound". By the end of the decade, there could be a surplus of 70 million single men in China. The resulting increased "value" of women has resulted in a trade worth $1.4 million US a year--kidnapping and trading women for marriage and prostitution markets. The problem is particularly severe in rural areas.--
Current Thoughts & Trends

The Swift Current Bible Institute campus has been sold to the Evangelical Mennonite Church of Swift Current, Sask. for $400,000, a year after the 60-year-old institution closed its doors. The school had been operated by the Saskatchewan and Alberta Conferences of Mennonites. Earlier this year, most of the school's library books were shipped to the Ukraine for use in colleges and churches. The two provincial conferences used $140,000 to pay off SCBI's debts, and now have to decide what to do with the remaining funds.--
ChristianWeek

319 slaves in southern Sudan were released when a television crew from the Canadian Christian daily television program, 100 Huntley Street, paid slave traders for their freedom. In cooperation with the interdenominational human rights organization, Christian Solidarity International, the television crew also documented a report by relief workers of helicopter gunship raids by the ruling military regime on civilian communities. There were graphic accounts of barbaric treatment, with homes and crops burned, livestock stolen, and women and children abducted and sold as slaves. Money for the slave release project was donated by viewers of 100 Huntley Street. The government of Sudan continues to refuse access to the United Nations and nongovernment relief agencies into areas where the atrocities are occurring.--
100 Huntley Street

The International Bible Society has abandoned plans for gender-related wording changes in future editions of the New International Version of the Bible. The potential changes stirred significant opposition among readers of the most widely distributed Bible in the English language, representing 45% of Bibles circulated in North America.--
IBS

The Jesus film was recently translated into its 400th language, Cebaara Senoufo of West Africa. Another 233 language versions are in various stages of production. The Jesus film's frequency of translation dwarfs such favourites as Gone with the Wind (available in 20 languages) and the The Lion King (26).--
EPNS

Franklin Graham's crusades in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa in April attracted 208,000 attenders. 7,000 people committed their lives to Christ in Cape Town and 15,500 in Johannesburg. It was the largest crusade yet for Franklin Graham, who has preached in 56 crusades across the US and around the world since 1989. Also in April, Luis Palau attracted 127,000 attenders to his "Hope for Eternity" Hong Kong crusade. More than 4,300 people made a public statement of commitment to Jesus Christ at the five stadium rallies. About 8,000 children responded to the gospel at a children's rally. Billy Graham's South Texas Crusade in San Antonio April 3-6, concluded with two consecutive record-breaking crowds at the three-year-old Alamodome. An average of over 49,450 individuals attended the five crusade events over four days. Of those, an average of over 4,500 came forward to make a commitment to Christ at each event.--
EPNS

Friends of Public Education in Ontario, Inc. has filed a claim against Canada with the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations in Geneva. The group argues that the Ontario contravenes international law in its manner of distribution of government funds for denominational schools. The Supreme Court of Canada recently ruled that, despite the equality provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and despite the fact that Ontario fully funds a Roman Catholic separate school system, the province is not required to fund a Jewish system or other Christian systems.--
FPEO release

The National Association of Evangelicals, a US body, has voted overwhelmingly to accept the Worldwide Church of God into membership. The application process included examination of doctrinal changes which have brought the denomination, formerly viewed as a cult, into the evangelical mainstream. The denomination has nearly 50,000 members in the United States and 73,435 members worldwide.

The NAE also recently voted to officially endorse Celebrate Jesus 2000, the four-year national evangelism initiative of the Mission America Coalition. Over the next four years, participating churches, denominations and parachurch ministries will emphasize a series of phases: 1997--the year of prayer, 1998--the year of personal witness, 1999--
the year of proclamation, 2000--the year of preservation (follow-up of new believers). Mission America is a coalition of nearly 250 Christian leaders who represent about 160,000 churches, denominations and parachurch ministries, including the US Mennonite Brethren missions initiative, Mission USA.--
NAE, Mission America

Food and medicine for Iraq are still urgently needed despite a recent easing of UN-imposed economic sanctions, reported members of a Canadian Foodgrains Bank delegation who returned from a week-long mission to Iraq April 11. They reported child malnutrition and a rising child mortality rate. CFGB is currently planning a food shipment to Iraq.--
CFGB

Lowell Detweiler , who has served as Mennonite Disaster Services executive coordinator for the past 11 years, will be leaving that position in 1998. He will remain on staff to work on activities related to MDS' 50th anniversary in 2000.--
" M~DS

A Canadian Federal Court of Appeal ruled Feb. 18 that Bill McRae, former president of Ontario Bible College and Ontario Theological Seminary who now serves as chancellor, was not eligible to claim the clergy residence deduction when he filed his income tax claims 1986-1988. The Income Tax Act states that, in order to qualify, a taxpayer must be "a member of the clergy or of a religious order or a regular minister of a religious denomination, and be in charge of ministering to a diocese, parish or congregation, or engaged exclusively in full-time administrative service by appointment of a religious order or religious denomination." However, the dispute over who qualifies lies in what is considered a religious order. In ruling on the McRae case, Chief Justice Julius A. Isaac did not define exactly who qualifies for the deduction, only that McRae did not. About 300 Christian workers whose clergy residence deductions are currently disputed by Revenue Canada are being represented by the Canadian Council of Christian Charities. CCCC executive director Frank Luellau suggests that as the government narrows clergy eligibility for the deduction, denominational institutions will have a better chance of qualifying as a religious order than independent or interdenominational ones.--
ChristianWeek