March 28 -- Executive develops Sunday School curriculum for youth (Dale Hanson Bourke): Like most children of his time and place, Don McKinnon dutifully attended Sunday school. But despite the best intentions of his teachers, he couldn't stand it. For a bright and active boy, sitting still while listening to Bible stories was torture.

March 28 -- Learning to treasure the things that matter (Tom Ehrich): A friend in Texas has started writing poetry. He writes about a mother holding the lifeless body of her 13-month-old son, and how "the ghost of her presence walked into the hallways in search of someone who would never be found."

March 28 -- Peeling away the layers of the Lenten season (Kelly Pigott): "Throw me something mister!" I yelled at the top of my ten-year-old voice.

March 28 -- 'Titanic' a passion play celebrating '60s morals (Terry Mattingly): Soon after "Titanic" opened in the United States, director James Cameron ventured into cyberspace to field questions from waves of stricken fans.

March 28 -- Moments of Grace

March 28 -- Fear gaining rule in America (Clark Morphew): A strange thing is happening to people in the United States: We are becoming more fearful.

March 28 -- Spiritual discipline not very popular these days (Tom Schaefer): It's getting harder and harder to talk about spiritual disciplines. Too many distractions, it seems, keep people from getting in to the spirit of the Lenten season.

March 28 -- Pageant has power to touch lives -- even of those who participate: Fred McNabb likes to tell about all the people whose lives have been touched or even changed by seeing Pioneer Drive Baptist Church's annual Easter pageant.

March 28 -- Methodist bishop seeks review of minister's acquittal: The bishop of the Northwest Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church is joining others in requesting a review of the acquittal of a Nebraska minister who presided over a same-sex covenanting ceremony in his church.

March 28 -- Religious leaders commend Vatican document: A document issued by the Vatican expressing repentance for Christians who failed to oppose Nazi persecution of Jews has been praised by both Roman Catholic and Jewish leaders.

March 21 -- 'The Apostle' shows a place where faith has fire (Ken Garfield): The best thing about "The Apostle" isn't Robert Duvall's performance.

March 21 -- A frustrated Dobson tries to put GOP on the spot (Clark Morphew): James Dobson, the president of Focus on the Family, is done playing Mr. Nice Guy. He's demanding action by key Republicans on eight principles the religious right has been pushing for more than a decade.

March 21 -- Presbyterians hold the line on ordination: Presbyterians make headlines, it seems, only when they debate sex. In my files is a glaring banner headline on the front page of the now-defunct evening edition of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

March 21 -- Grace shows there's only one kind of people (Thom Lemmons): How many times have you heard that phrase, followed by either a pithy aphorism or a gross oversimplification?

March 21 -- Eastern Orthodox shepherd seeks Celtic flock (Terry Mattingly): There is nothing unusual about a man with a name like Geoffrey O'Riada serving as a priest in Belfast.

March 21 -- Moments of Grace: God's grace and mercy are evident to us in our daily lives, but there are special occasions that bring expressions of his goodness to us more clearly.

March 21 -- Here's a former Miss America who prays on TV with viewers: VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- On the major network morning shows, the hosts mix friendly banter with earnest takes on Iraq and Monicagate, social trends and celebrities. Terry Meeuwsen does that, too. But, up to five times a week, before a million viewers, she does something else at once more bold and intimate.

March 21 -- Father, son say faith and prayer helped them survive blizzard: COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Mike Couillard's 1995 ski trip with his 10-year-old son started out the way so many father-son adventures do: full of joy, excitement and the anticipation of a fun time together.

March 21 -- Books focus on Irish religion, Celtic spirituality: 'Tis the season for books about Irish religion and Celtic spirituality.

March 21 -- Celtic is cool these days: It's ancient, and it's trendy. Walk into any music store and be prepared to be bombarded with everything Celtic from Celtic Cowboy to Celtic Christian. Bookshelves are loaded with books from and about Celtic music, lore, legend, history, and religion.

March 21 -- Youth invited to attend the Prom-ise: Four years ago Chris Jenkins was hanging out in bars seven days a week, pretty much wasting his life to hear him tell it.

March 21 -- UPS man delivers gospel in song: Driving down the street singing to himself and scribbling lyrics on delivery notices might not sound like a safe thing for a UPS delivery man to be doing.

March 21 -- Laws try to catch up with conflicts of diverse workplaces, devout workers: CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- What's sacred to some workers can concern their bosses and colleagues.

March 21 -- Trip to the Holy Land provides inspriation for author, singer: Some trinkets, presents for others, a lot of photos, maybe a little sunburn -- such are the things most people bring back from vacations.

March 21 -- Church struggles with homosexual issue: In a gymnasium-like room of a Nebraska church, the defense counsel stood before potential jurors and posed a simple question.

March 14 -- On family's tragic day, no one was a stranger (Ken Garfield): Kay McClary, 85, collapsed outside Eckerd Drugs at Cotswold Mall in Charlotte, N.C.

March 14 -- A San Antonio minister defends the Jewish people (Jim Jones): I don't always agree with the Rev. John Hagee of San Antonio, a forceful and skilled wordsmith often seen on national television.

March 14 -- Searching for Celtic spirituality (Terry Mattingly): It happened every year in the weeks just before St. Patrick's Day.

March 14 -- Mainline churches reinvigorate membership (Clark Morphew): It's about time we had some good news to tell readers about the mainline churches in the United States.

March 14 -- Trend toward broken promises isn't encouraging (Tom Schaefer): When I was a child, my parents stood at the church's baptismal font and promised to rear me in the Christian faith. Fourteen years later, I stood near that same font, promising to be faithful until death to the One who has redeemed me from sin, death and the power of evil. I'm doing my best, with the help of God, to uphold that vow.

March 14 -- Following Christ need not be a last-minute decision (Brian Palmer Guest Column): Renee and I were very good friends in high school in Oregon in the early '80s. We both wrote poems and stories. We both loved the coast and went together a time or two.

March 14 -- Moments of Grace: In the Tuesday, March 3, edition of the Abilene Reporter-News, Ellen Goodman made a beautiful and insightful description of and about Alzheimer's.

March 14 -- Texas Baptist Men helping build Hospitality House: They were chanting "Stop Hook Davis, Stop Hook Davis" when Hardin-Simmons University played in the 1948 Harbor Bowl in San Diego.

March 14 -- Area Methodists on mission trips to Mexico: While Texas Baptist Men are in Abilene building a Hospitality House for relatives of prison inmates, two groups of Abilene Methodists are en route to Mexico to build a retirement house and a church.

March 14 -- ACU grads have personal stake in fate of arrested Christians: The fate of 13 Christians who remain jailed in Laos after a Jan. 30 arrest for holding a religious meeting is being monitored closely by members of the Church of Christ, particularly those associated with Abilene Christian University.

March 14 -- Parishioners are angry at school building's likely sale to pay Kos settlement: DALLAS -- They pray for a miracle at Cathedral Santuario de Guadalupe. But they plan as if their prayers will go unanswered.

March 14 -- Professor Regina Schwartz finds a dark side as well as a positive side to monotheism: EVANSTON, Ill. -- Five years ago, an 18-year-old freshman raised his hand in class and asked a question that caused his professor, Regina Schwartz, to have what might be described as the academic equivalent of a religious experience.

March 14 -- Pastors in pain increasingly feel jilted by their own flock -- and even by God: DALLAS -- The request seemed silly, almost trivializing the pain that filled the room. The therapist asked the 50 men and women each to put a penny, a nickel and a dime in their hands and decide which one represented them best.

March 14 -- Spiritual pet owners believe their dogs will go to heaven: In an alphabetical listing of pets, Rudy would be filed under "D" for "Demanding."

March 14 -- Ministries pledge support for Promise Keepers: Prominent evangelical ministries such as Campus Crusade for Christ as well as more than 1,000 churches nationwide are pledging to help support Promise Keepers as the men's organization faces a financial crisis.

March 14 -- Meet a controversial Jesus scholar: Pastors sit straighter, clutch their notepads tighter and sweat a little harder when Marcus Borg talks.

March 14 -- Seminarian once testified before Senate committee: Dave Barrington knows as much about stealth fighter parts, M-79 grenade launchers -- and where to get a good deal on a couple of used ones -- as anybody.

March 14 -- Religion in the media: A look at recent books

March 7 -- Cross losing its true meaning in today's society (DR. E. RICHARD CHAFFIN): It has become fashionable these days to wear crosses, not necessarily as a sign of faith but as a trendy accessory. Crosses are hip now.

March 7 -- Family faces its unresolved feelings (Ken Garfield): Kayce Hendricks of Charlotte, N.C., never knew her uncle Stan. She's only 17. He died in Vietnam long before she got the chance to laugh at his jokes or listen to his stories of being a high school football star in Liberty, S.C.

March 7 -- In Texas, conservative Baptists foment a new revolution (Jim Jones): Texans are a rebellious people. In fact, Monday marked Texas Independence Day -- commemorating the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence from Mexico on March 2, 1836.

March 7 -- Talking with Robert Duvall about Pentecostals (Terry Mattingly): Most movies about the South look like they were filmed in Southern California.

March 7 -- Moments of Grace: As a Christian, I have repeatedly been taught the power of prayer, with particular emphasis on "two or three agreeing." Recently I came across two Scriptures in the same day that reminded me of the power of one.

March 7 -- Jots and tittles from the world of religion (Tom Schaefer): 'Fess up: Who is really observing this Lenten season?

March 7 -- The politics aside, it's theology that divides Southern Baptists: Here's how deep the splits have grown within the Southern Baptist Convention:

March 7 -- Death penalty resolution draws broad support: A resolution opposing the death penalty that was adopted by the Texas Conference of Churches drew support in this area from delegates as diverse as a Roman Catholic bishop and a Methodist laywoman in Munday.

March 7 -- Feast of Queen Esther to be celebrated Friday: Queen Esther may not have envisioned it this way, but her celebration has become "something like Mardi Gras" to modern day Jews.

March 7 -- God trails fear in reasons teens give for avoiding sex: The fact that God came in Number 4 didn't surprise anyone, even if it was a little disappointing.

March 7 -- Prayer chapel provides haven 24 hours a day: SUNNYVALE, Texas -- The Rev. James L. Green realized how desperately people needed something like The Secret Place when a man bent on murder pounded on the door of his church one New Year's Eve.

March 7 -- Giving 10 percent of your income to the church: Collection plates might be full, but churchgoers who give 10 percent of their income to the church are rare.

March 7 -- Bible trivia games growing in popularity: A quick quiz -- and no fair peeking in the nearest Bible:

March 1 -- Making changes to a Bible translation can be a minefield: COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- As legend has it, 70 people working independently in different countries translated Hebrew scriptures into Greek around the third century B.C.

March 1 -- Care Team goes where many fear to tread: HOUSTON -- It is a tradition, both Jewish and Christian, to care for the old, welcome the stranger and assist the very ill.

March 1 -- Pastors less likely to counsel parishioners: A joke around seminary used to be that "the local Baptist preacher was the poor man's psychiatrist."

March 1 -- Money changed millionaire's life: Becoming a millionaire at age 29 changed Millard Fuller's life.

March 1 -- Correspondent says religion getting short shrift in media: With only one major television network hiring a full-time religion correspondent, it's obvious the message isn't getting out -- neither the spiritual message nor the message that viewers want more religion coverage.

March 1 -- Protestants rediscover spiritual benefits of fasting: CINCINNATI -- Ron Peake remembers acutely what it was like to not eat anything for 40 days last spring.

March 1 -- 17 nationalities represented in growning Hispanic congregation: DALLAS -- Victor Higueros left Guatemala when the Lord moved him to minister in a foreign land, a place the young pastor had visited just once. It was, Higueros observed, an area of desperate need and emptiness.

March 1 -- Scholars don't take beliefs about Jesus as gospel: CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Ask the world's most renowned group of Jesus experts what they think of Christianity's most basic beliefs, and they'll tell you most are myth.

March 1 -- Christians differ over moral justifications for war: What if the current agreement between the United Nations and Iraq fails? Would this nation, rooted in Judeo-Christian principles, be morally justified in going to war? Other religious teaching on war