Author: Gordon Govier

DES MOINES, Iowa (BP)–In the first such ruling for America’s heartland, an Iowa judge Aug. 30 struck down the state’s ban on "gay marriage" and ordered Iowa’s most populous county to begin granting marriage licenses immediately to homosexual couples.Read more of this story.

NEAR a prairie dotted with cattle and green with soy beans, barley, corn and oats, two bearded Hasidic men dressed in black pray outside a slaughterhouse here that is managed by an evangelical Christian. What brought these men together could easily have kept them apart: religion. Read more of this story.

COMMENTARYWhen it comes to statistics about religion, Europe is an urbane continent full of empty cathedrals, while America offers rows of suburban mega-churches.Consider what happens when the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life asks a basic "salience question" to determine the level of interest in faith-related matters around the world. Participants are asked to answer "yes" or "no" in response to this statement: "Religion is very important to me."Read more of this story.

COMMENTARYI was asked an important question this week in the context of a gathering of future evangelical leaders: What one thing would bring about renewal and revival in America? Who could claim to know the answer? But I do know what first entered my mind. If there is going to be real renewal, real revival –at least in America – there will have to be widespread repentance for how we have failed to answer Jesus’ plea for demonstrable unity and shared grace among those who follow Christ.Read more of this story.

PHOENIX (Reuters Life!) – Shock-rocker Alice Cooper has a surprise for those who only see him as the man in haunting black makeup with a stage show featuring mock hangings, real snakes and plenty of fake blood.The self-styled "Prince of Darkness" is throwing his energy into building a Christian teen center in Phoenix for at-risk youths from the area, hoping to break ground by November.Read more of this story.

In Illinois, several successful megachurches already have opened Chicago branches, including Naperville’s Community Christian Church and South Barrington’s Willow Creek Community Church, which holds services at the historic Auditorium Theatre near Grant Park.Read more of this story.

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (ANS) — Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church (CRPC) in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.., today announced the retirement of its senior pastor Dr. D. James Kennedy.Read more of this story.

WILMINGTON, N.C. — Take Back Ministry isn’t your average gospel group.Dressed in fitted caps, jeans and Nikes, the seven members – all younger than 35 – work to save souls. But a lyrical flow meshed with hip-hop beats of bass lines and percussion taps is what they use to bring others to Christ.Read more of this story.

Nearly one-quarter of the nation’s voters are evangelical Christians, and since the 1980s most of them have endorsed Republican candidates. They helped elect President George Bush to a second term, constituting more than one-third of his votes in 2004. But today some evangelicals are saying their votes can’t be taken for granted. Looking beyond traditional litmus test issues such as abortion or gay marriage, some young Christians say they are no longer calling themselves Republican. Read more of this story.

Open the box of a new Buck knife and you’ll notice a couple of things. The finely sharpened blade and sturdy design you would expect, but a statement on the warranty card might surprise you. It talks about new knife owners being part of the Buck family and says God is the company’s senior partner. It encourages buyers to look to God for support during troubled times and quotes John 3:16.Read more of this story.