August 25, 2011

Court proceedings:

Bingo -
U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson said that he will delay the next gambling corruption trial until Jan. 9, but he has not yet ruled whether he will hold three separate trials for the seven remaining defendants in the case.
Thompson today was openly skeptical of prosecutors' arguments that the defendants should be tried in three proceedings.

Immigration - 
The U.S. Justice Department is involved in another high-profile case in Alabama, involving the immigration reform law set to go into effect next Thursday, September 1st.  U.S. District Judge Sharon Blackburn said  she was not ready to decide if she'll block any of the law.  The judge heard arguments from the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as number of interest groups and leaders of three Alabama church denominations, seeking to block the law.   Attorney General Luther Strange's office was defending the law.

There has been some concern by church leaders from a variety of backgrounds about the implications of the law and how it could affect ministry to immigrants, legal or illegal.    While proponents of the legislation stress that the reform bill is dedicated to enforcing the "rule of law", in the absence of Federal enforcement, there are those that want to characterize such a bill as less than compassionate.

At their June convention in Phoenix, Southern Baptists dealt with the issue, passing a resolution calling for the Federal government to secure the borders while providing a path to citizenship.   And, illegal immigrants would also be required to make restitution for breaking the laws of the U.S.

Eric Johnston of the SE Law Institute was in court all day yesterday, and offered this analysis regarding the issue of ministry under the new immigration law.

Watch for new study/book on religious practice...

Here's the link to a Washington Examiner piece.

Southern Baptist megachurches (2000 + average worship attendance)

Dr. Thom Rainer, President and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, listed the megachurches in the Southern Baptist Convention.   The SBC has some 46,000 churches, and only 177 are what would be termed, "megachurches" - churches with at least 2000 in average primary worship attendance.

The results are not necessarily surprising for the top 5:

1. Second Baptist Church, Houston, TX 23,121


2. Saddleback Valley CC, Lake Forest, CA 19,193

3. Woodlands Church, The Woodlands, TX 18,322

4. Prestonwood Baptist Church, Plano, TX 14,323

5. Thomas Road, Lynchburg, VA 13,500


6 Alabama Southern Baptist churches would fit the bill.   They are:   1st, Gardendale (54); Hunter Street in Hoover (64); Dawson Memorial, B'ham (86); Shades Mountain outside B'ham (89); 1st, Opelika (123); Willowbrook, Huntsville (145).   Here's the link to Dr. Rainer's post.