South

A pastor in North Carolina who has been strongly condemned by many Christians for making anti-gay comments was given a standing ovation by his congregants during the church service Sunday.

Several members of Providence Road Baptist Church in Maiden, N.C., and about 100 visitors gave Pastor Charles Worley a standing ovation when he approached the pulpit Sunday, Hickory Record reported. Others lift their hands in support of the 71-year-old pastor.

Worley received widespread criticism after his May 13 sermon in which he said gays should be rounded up into an electric fence and left to die. His remarks were apparently in response to President Barack Obama's May 9 announcement that he supports legalizing gay marriage. more >>

Beryl hit Florida early Monday, and the tropical storm continues to pound the southeastern U.S. coast with ferocity. With force approaching that of a hurricane, the storm brought a torrential downpour, high winds, and it has the potential to flood lowland areas.

Beryl hit Florida Memorial Day at about 12:10 a.m. near Jacksonville Beach. It also affected areas like Duval and northern St. Johns counties with winds at about 70 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Trees were downed, leading to over 38,000 residents now reported without power across the storm areas, according to the Jacksonville Electric Authority. Florida and Georgia are still being pounded by heavy rain. Governor Rick Scott advised Florida residents to stay abreast of any reports that surface to keep themselves safe. more >>

A church in Wake Forest, N.C., is expecting more than 1,200 people to gather for a Memorial Day picnic – the state's largest – on Monday to honor veterans who have served America and to give glory to God for His providential acts in the country's history.

Hosted by Hope Baptist Church, the all-day outdoor Old-Fashioned Memorial Day Picnic will feature patriotic speeches, live music, a free barbecue lunch, rides in vintage military vehicles, a children's parade, a living history camp, and special remarks by two WWII veterans, the church announced Saturday.

"We owe a great debt to the sacrifice our veterans have made to oppose tyranny and defend our nation's cherished liberties," Scott T. Brown, a church elder and the organizer, said in a statement. more >>

WASHINGTON – The constraint is on the government, not citizens when it comes to church-state issues according to the Constitution, stated Dr. Richard Land, who was honored with a national religious liberty award earlier this week at the Canadian embassy.

"I'm always fond of pointing out to people that when you look at our First Amendment to the Constitution, which is in large part there because Baptists insisted that it be there in order for them to vote to ratify the Constitution, all of the restrictions are on the government, not on citizens," said Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, at the 10th annual Religious Liberty Dinner on Thursday.

He continued, "It says Congress shall make no laws establishing a religion nor interfere with the free exercise thereof. It doesn't say that we as people of faith cannot bring our faith conviction into the public square." more >>

A Christian student group has dropped a lawsuit against the University of North Carolina-Greensboro after the university agreed to officially recognize the group as religious, therefore making the group exempt from the university's nondiscrimination policy.

The legal group the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) filed the lawsuit on behalf of the "Make Up Your Own Mind" club, a pro-abstinence, pro-life group, after the university refused to acknowledge it as a religious group.

According to the university's nondiscrimination policy, non-religious groups must offer open membership to all students, regardless of their religious beliefs. more >>

A teen Tebowing during his graduation ceremony Saturday caused his diploma to be withheld by Florida school officials, who didn't want the high school senior's actions to be an "inspiration" for other antics.

Chuck Shriner, 17, of Bishop Verot's Catholic school, was bet $5 by his friends that he wouldn't go on stage and imitate the popular pose of the New York Jets' Christian quarterback. They underestimated him; he Tebowed on stage- dropping to one knee to pray- while parents and students erupted in laughter.

"I just thought it was fun," the teen told Naples News. "I was just doing it to make graduation memorable." more >>