COLLEGE FOOTBALL STAR SPORTS ' JOHN 3 :16 ' IN CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

NCAA football star Tim Tebow helped bring the spotlight to his team and his faith Thursday night, leading No. 1 Florida to a 24-14 win over No. 2 Oklahoma for the BCS championship.
The Gators quarterback ran 22 times for 109 yards and completed 18 of 30 passes for 231 yards.
Other numbers for that night? 3 and 16.
John 3:16, that is.
As he has done throughout the season, Tebow used his black under-eye markings Thursday night to share Scripture, this time donning the most popular Bible verse in America.
For many, the reference was simply a personal form of self-expression, no different another athlete’s lucky gloves or gold-colored shoes.
“Tebow's religious expression has been a big part of the wholesome image we see described in every single feature written about him,” wrote sports columnist Tom Herrera in the NCAA Football Fanhouse.
“If Tebow wants to put his Christian faith on a pedestal, so be it – it doesn't distract me in the slightest,” he added.
For some, however, it was no different from someone touting “There is no God.”
“I just want to watch a football game; I don’t want to be prosetylized (sic) to,” commented William Lobdell, author of Losing My Religion, in his blog Friday.
Though the evangelical-turned-atheist said he understood why Tebow would make such a move, given his strong Christian beliefs, he suggested that anti-God messages would likely not have been allowed by Florida’s coaches and NCAA officials.
“I imagine that these personal slogans will soon be banned,” he wrote.
Despite the controversy, Tebow remains one of the most popular and respected players in NCAA football, having been the first college sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy and the first college football player to both rush and pass for 20 touchdowns in a season.
Aside from his achievements on the field, Tebow has also been highlighted for his evangelistic outreach and overseas charity works. The son of missionaries frequently visits the Philippines, where he was born, and helps orphans and even performs surgeries with the help of an assistant. He has also preached at several venues, including a prison, where he told inmates that he has found “true satisfaction, true happiness.”
“[A]nd it is not by having your name in a newspaper, it is not by winning trophies, and it is not by winning championships,” Tebow told inmates last April at the Lancaster Correctional Institution in Trenton, Fla.
“It is by having a relationship with Jesus Christ," he said before encouraging the inmates to step on to the stage to accept Christ.
Tebow is also one of the most prominent fruits of the homeschooling movement, which has grown 77 percent over the past eight years, according to recently released estimates from National Center of Education Statistics (NCES).
Tebow began his football career after legislation was passed in Florida in 1996 that allowed homeschooled students to compete in local high school sporting events. He and his siblings were all homeschooled by their mother, who worked to instill the family’s deep Christian beliefs along the way.
According to reports, Tebow figures to soon decide whether he'll return to Florida for his senior season or enter the NFL draft.

MICHAEL W SMITH TO BE INDUCTED IN GOSPEL MUSIC HALL OF FAME

Christian music legend Michael W. Smith and Country music star Dolly Parton will be among the latest additions to the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, according to an announcement this week.
The Gospel Music Association Foundation (GMAF) will also be inducting Dr. Bobby Jones, The Dixie Hummingbirds and music producer Lair Goss into the GMA Gospel Hall of Fame next month, announced GMAF president and CEO John W. Styll on Wednesday.
"This year’s class of GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame inductees have all achieved great professional and personal success in many different areas of the music and entertainment industries,” stated Styll, “but each shares a common heritage of the Gospel’s powerful impact on their lives.”
Established in 1971, the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame honors and celebrates the economic, cultural, social and spiritual contributions past and present that Christian and gospel music have made not only to Music City, but to the world.
Since its inception, the Hall of Fame has inducted more than 150 members, including The Winans, Elvis Presley, Amy Grant, Andrae Crouch, and Sandi Patty.
This year’s induction ceremony and dinner will be held on Feb. 2 at The Richland Country Club in Nashville, starting with a medallion ceremony and reception at 6:30 p.m. The induction ceremony and dinner will begin at 7:30 p.m.

ON OBAMA'S INAUGURATION, MUSLIM, SAY ' IT'S OUR TIME '

A magazine that proudly promotes itself as Muslim has announced a special edition for Barack Obama's inauguration as president, with Editor Nida Kahn claiming, "It's our time."
The publication, Elan magazine, also includes endorsements of Obama's familiarity with Islam from the daughter of Malcolm X and Benjamin F. Chavis Muhammad, the chief of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, as well as others.
The magazine, which calls itself the "guide to global Muslim culture," is distributed in the U.S., Pakistan, Indonesia, Canada, Qatar, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates, as well as online.
Its cover story for the edition, "Muslim World Embraces Obama," "explores the hopes and aspirations of Muslims regarding America's new president."

Editor Khan writes, "As the guide to global Muslim culture, we here at elan felt compelled to honor the 44th president of the United States via this special inauguration issue. Barack Hussein Obama not only possesses a keen understanding of the complexities of society but has demonstrated his willingness to engage in discourse and seek amicable solutions even with our opponents."
She includes a disclaimer that she is not identifying Obama "as a Muslim."
But she confirms her desire to celebrate and honor the next president, "who, by his very nature, experiences and principles truly does represent hope for the millions of Muslims – and non-Muslims alike – on this planet."
In a statement released on the PR Newswire network, Khan writes of her intention to "offer an independent all-inclusive forum for Muslims."
Chavis Muhammad writes that "with some 1.25 billion Muslims across the globe, the Islamic world couldn't be more excited and anticipatory about the possibility of increased dialogue, understanding and unity that Obama's presidency will undoubtedly bring."
"As an African American Muslim, I can say my prayers were answered when Obama was elected," Chavis Muhammad writes.
He quotes Ayann Ahmed, an entrepreneur working with hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, saying, "I believe he will help bring about a better understanding that Islam is a religion of peace and compassion. Obama is a man of understanding of the world."
Also cited by Chavis Muhammad is Imam El-Hagg Talib Abdur-Rashid of the Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood in New York, who says, "Obama has a job ahead of him of immense proportions. But so do we as Muslims in America."
"Whenever there is an advance in the consciousness of people to do away with unjustified prejudices against Islam or the Muslim community, then that is cause for hope and goodwill," Chavis Muhammad says. "With President Obama, rhetoric will translate into sustainable actions for the greater good of society."
"Beyond his name that signifies his connection to both the African and Muslim worlds, Barack Obama has demonstrated an openness and familiarity with Islam that gives Muslims hope that we will move beyond the 'clash of civilizations model,'" writes Zaheer Ali, a student at Columbia.
Ilyasah Shabazz, the daughter of Al Hajj Malik Shabazz, aka Malcolm X, says were her father alive today, he would "share everyone's joy about the prospect of returning the United States to a position of credibility, respect and leadership."
"Forty-four years after his martyrdom, he remains the most famous and recognized Muslim American, as well as a role model for men and women alike advocating for social justice," she writes.
"Forty-four years ago, the idea of an African American as president of the most powerful nation on earth – let alone president with a name that is common among Muslims – wasn't even imaginable. Yet in 2008, the people of the United States of America voted," she said.
"I believe that President Obama and the citizens of the world will also come to understand that Islam is a religion of peace and unity, which in effect, are the same ideals for which my own father advocated," she continues. 'These ideals run contrary to those of that small minority of people who have obviously strayed away from the message of the Quran and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) when he taught that even if you absolutely have to fight, it should be avoided at all costs as a peaceful solution is better and bloodshed is abhorred by God. That even in such a case, you should display the beauty of Islam in your conduct in battle in an honorable way by adhering to the strict laws of conflict and chivalry that have been a fundamental part of the religion since the time of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) 1400 years ago."
WND documented earlier the report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the premium online newsletter published by the founder of WND, about the rise of the Salafi jihadist movement because of Obama's announced intentions.
Salafi jihadists follow a more radicalized version of Salafism and include such adherents as al-Qaida. The report says the movement is on the rise in the Middle East as the new Obama administration prepares to take office.
Obama already has indicated a new strategic approach for the Middle East by eliminating at the outset the pre-emption policy of the outgoing Bush administration against terrorists, the report said.
This change of policy has not been lost on Salafi jihadists who seek to rally Muslims for a global jihad as they already have done in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya, Kashmir and even the Philippines, the report said.
WND also reported earlier when Obama announced plans to deliver a major address in an Islamic capital as part of his global outreach, which he said would target the Muslim world.
"I think we've got a unique opportunity to reboot America's image around the world and also in the Muslim world in particular,'' Obama said in a free-ranging interview with the Chicago Tribune.
The Tribune reported Obama spoke of a major address in an Islamic capital but did not provide specific details.
Obama's comments came just days after WND reported an Egyptian cleric broadcast on state-funded television a plea urging Obama to convert to Islam while claiming the president-elect has roots in Islam.
"You, Obama, are among those who have pledged before Allah – Allah who created you, sustained you, and brought you to this position – to be a Muslim who believes that Allah is the one God, especially since you have some kind of roots in Islam," declared Egyptian cleric Hassan Abu Al-Ashbal, speaking last week on the state-funded Al Nas religious television network.
"Convert to Islam, and you will be saved. All glory and honor lie in following Allah and his messenger, Muhammad. Know that the true religion is the religion of Islam, and all other religions are fabricated religions, which are null and void – religions that were abrogated by the Shariah of Muhammad," Ashbal said.
Obama repeatedly has denied he is a Muslim. His presidential campaign website contained the statement, "Senator Obama has never been a Muslim, was not raised as a Muslim, and is a committed Christian."
But as WND has reported, public records in Indonesia listed Obama as a Muslim during his early years, and a number of childhood friends claimed to the media Obama was once a mosque-attending Muslim.
Obama's campaign several times wavered in response to reporters queries regarding the senator's childhood faith.
And in Obama's autobiography, "Dreams From My Father," he acknowledged studying the Quran and describes the public school as "a Muslim school."
"In the Muslim school, the teacher wrote to tell mother I made faces during Quranic studies," wrote Obama.
In an interview with the New York Times, Obama described the Muslim call to prayer as "one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset."
The Times' Nicholos Kristof wrote Obama recited, "with a first-class [Arabic] accent," the opening lines of the Muslim call to prayer.
The first few lines of the call to prayer state:
Allah is Supreme!Allah is Supreme!Allah is Supreme! Allah is Supreme!I witness that there is no god but AllahI witness that there is no god but AllahI witness that Muhammad is his prophet ...
Some attention also has been paid to Obama's paternal side of the family, including his father and his brother, Roy.
Writing in a chapter of his book describing his 1992 wedding, Obama stated: "The person who made me proudest of all was Roy. Actually, now we call him Abongo, his Luo name, for two years ago he decided to reassert his African heritage. He converted to Islam and has sworn off pork and tobacco and alcohol."

GAY EPISCOPAL PRIEST TO BE ORDAINED IN DENVER

DENVER - Ending several years of restraint by the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado in ordaining openly gay and partnered priests, Bishop Robert O'Neill will ordain Mary Catherine Volland, along with three others, to the priesthood at St. John's Cathedral on Saturday.
Volland, a longtime resident of Colorado and partnered lesbian, was a candidate for ordination in the Diocese of Minnesota, but has been called to serve as an assistant priest at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Denver, said Beckett Stokes, spokeswoman for the 30,000-member Colorado Diocese.
Despite nationwide controversy that has splintered Episcopalians, the church does ordain gay and lesbian priests. The bishop has the option of deploying them to Colorado congregations when it makes sense, Stokes said. Several Colorado congregations are served by gay priests.
O'Neill, who previously had suspended gay ordination out of sensitivity for church factions strongly opposed to it, is choosing to decide these matters on "a case-by-case basis," Stokes said.

DISGRACED PASTOR HAGGARD SAYS HIS FAITH NOW STRONGER

LOS ANGELES - Ted Haggard, the powerful U.S. evangelist who fell from grace in 2006 amid a gay sex scandal, returned to the spotlight Friday saying his faith was stronger but he wished people had been more forgiving.
Haggard, 52, was exiled from the New Life mega-church he founded and told by church elders to leave Colorado after admitting "sexual immorality" and buying methamphetamines from a male prostitute.
It was a stunning admission for the president of the National Association of Evangelicals, a formidable force among U.S. conservative Christians and a group that had the ear of the White House.
An HBO documentary about Haggard's year in exile, his struggle with his sexuality in the face of his past condemnation of gays, and his attempts to make a living outside the church, will air on the cable TV network on January 29.
Haggard, his wife Gayle and two of his five children appeared on a panel for U.S. television critics Friday to promote the documentary, "The Trials of Ted Haggard." He had previously been barred by evangelical leaders from speaking to the media.
"I don't think it is a flattering piece. I think it is even-handed," Haggard told Reuters in an interview. "It is embarrassing for me for people to see it, but it does answer their questions."
Haggard refers to himself in the documentary as a sinner who deserved the punishment meted out to him. He says he came close to suicide.
"I DESERVED IT" But he said the year his family spent living in cheap motels or the homes of friends had ultimately strengthened his faith -- although he held out no hope of returning to work as a pastor.
"I can't imagine very many churches inviting me to speak, even though I am a better Christian now and have a better understanding of scriptures than ever," said Haggard, who is back in Colorado working as a life insurance salesman.
"It has strengthened my faith. I do wish others had been more forgiving toward me. But I think those who hate me and judge me had a reason. I deserved it."
Three weeks after church elders told Haggard to leave and ordered him to undergo "spiritual restoration," they announced that after counseling he was "completely heterosexual."
Haggard smiled wryly at the statement, saying he fits into neither the gay nor the evangelical community.
"My therapist says I am a heterosexual with complications. I don't say that because it is more complex. I love my relationship with my wife. I am so much better than before. I am not restless," he said.
"For 30 years, I thought that you could take care of any problem with prayer. Now, a good therapist has helped me understand how the brain works."
During his exile, he told documentary maker Alexandra Pelosi that he continued to "struggle from time to time with same-sex attraction."
"Even though I'm a sinner, even though I'm weak," he told Pelosi, "God's best plan for human beings is for men and women to unite together."
Pelosi, the daughter of U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, told Reuters that Haggard asked to change nothing in the documentary.
During his exile, he attended a church in Arizona but sat at the back to avoid being recognized. He applied to work as an online admissions university counselor, and at one time got a job delivering fliers door to door.
"I wish I had resigned my position with the church way earlier than I did, and been more open with my family. But I was afraid," he told journalists. "I now know more about hatred and judgment than ever before, and I know it doesn't help."

ELDORA GUNMAN TARGETTED NON CHRISTIANS

BOULDER — Derik Bonestroo's confrontation with fellow workers at Eldora Mountain Resort appeared to be a well-planned scheme to kill co-workers who were not Christian, according to investigators from the Boulder County Sheriff's Office.
Bonestroo's "demeanor and tactical style clothing" had all the indications that the 24-year-old Bonestroo carefully planned the face-to-face showdown, according to documents filed Wednesday in Boulder District Court.
Chris Fiegel, a detective in the Sheriff's Office, interviewed employees who were at the ski area's pump house Dec. 30 when Bonestroo fatally shot Brian Mahon, the resort's general manager. Fiegel also interviewed other Nederland- area residents who were confronted by Bonestroo.
That morning, the 6-foot- 2-inch, 200-pound-plus lift operator drove to Eldora Mountain Resort, where a number of lift operators had gathered for an assignment meeting in the pump house.
One of the employees at the meeting, April Wilson, told investigators that Bonestroo walked in dressed in black, carrying a gun, and fired into the ceiling, according to the documents.
He then declared: "If you're not Christian, you're going to die," Wilson said.
At that point, Wilson said, everybody started running out the back door to get away. As she ran into the woods, the 24-year-old Wilson heard an additional four or five shots.
Wilson ran along the Nordic trails of the resort and was finally able to catch a ride to the Nederland Police Department.
In the minutes that followed, Bonestroo engaged in a gun battle with a sheriff's deputy just outside of Nederland. The deputy hit Bonestroo but didn't kill him; Bonestroo committed suicide by shooting himself.
In the car, investigators found that Bonestroo had a "drop-down magazine holster" strapped to his left thigh and a "drop-down gun holster" on his right thigh.
Bonestroo was clutching a Glock semiautomatic handgun in his right hand.
A check of the room he rented in Nederland resulted in the discovery of a blood-splattered room and Bonestroo's dead cat, according to investigators.
They retraced his steps and found that he had spent Christmas Eve with his parents in Longmont. Officers looked into the room where Bonestroo stayed and saw several rifle cases. The parents also told police that when he moved out in November, their son had two handguns.
The morning of the shooting, Bonestroo stopped at the Nederland home of Cynthia Davis about 6:45 a.m. and asked where her next-door neighbors were, according to the court documents. Davis told Bonestroo that they had moved out a few days before.
Davis thought that Bonestroo, clad in black and with the handgun and knife strapped to his leg, was a police officer.
But she did not see any sign of a badge or law enforcement logo, she told Fiegel.