MINISTER IN SPOTLIGHT AFTER OBAMA DEATH PRAYERS IN ARIZONA

A controversial Arizona minister who prays for the death of President Obama has attracted attention from the Secret Service to a small group of protesters who hold regular demonstrations outside his church.
The Rev. Steven Anderson quoted passages from the Old Testament to the congregation of his Faithful Word Baptist Church about the kinds of people God hates in Tempe Aug. 16. Anderson then told worshippers he interprets those passages to include Mr. Obama and that he prays for the president's death.
While Anderson didn't say he wanted his parishioners to attack the president, he did say the country would benefit from Mr. Obama dying.
"If you want to know how I'd like to see Obama die, I'd like him to die of natural causes," Anderson told KNXV-TV. "I don't want him to be a martyr. We don't need another holiday. I'd like to see him die, like Ted Kennedy, of brain cancer."
Anderson told the station the Secret Service contacted him after his comments became public and that his attorney advised him to deny giving the agency an interview.
Anderson's sermon inspired the creation of a group called People Against Clergy Who Preach Hate to protest against the pastor.
"I'm just disgusted with this man who claims to be a minister of the Lord preaching hate toward the president," protester Larry Crane told KNXV-TV.
"It's hard to believe we could have someone of a religious nature wishing our president was dead," protester William Crumb told the station.
Some parishioners — whether they didn't provide their names or the station just didn't report them is unclear — supported their minister.
"I hate people that hate God," one Faithful Word parishioner said.
"As far as I know we live in America, we have freedom of religion, freedom to assemble and the freedom of speech," another parishioner said.
Protesters will continue to demonstrate outside Anderson's church until he stops preaching what they consider hate speech.
"I just think it's sad," Crane told the station. "We can have discourse without preaching hate. That's what this minister is doing."

OM SENDS OUT 250 FULL TIME MISSIONARIES

They include 35 Christians from the UK and one lady from Trinidad who even sold her own business so that she could work alongside OM in Cambodia.
"Each had heard and answered God’s call to join the Great Commission," said a spokesman for OM.
At the end of August, the missionaries came together in De Kroeze in the Netherlands to learn about cross-cultural communication and God's heart for mission.
They also prepared themselves for some of the challenges they would face while proclaiming Christ overseas by taking part in daily Bible studies, discussion seminars and setting an entire day aside for prayer.
Destinations include France and countries in East Europe, Central Asia and the Near East. Several of the new missionaries from the UK were inspired to join OM after the ministry's new ship Logos Hope stopped at UK ports earlier in the year. They flew out after the conference to join the ship in the Caribbean.
One Christian joining the OM team in the UK said of her visit to Logos Hope: "It was amazing to be with the people of God from so many nations! I loved the focus on knowing God and loving people."
There are presently 5,400 Christians serving with OM in 110 countries and onboard two ministry ships.