Members of the First United Methodist Church in Royse City were in shock when they learned that their pastor, Steve Richardson, had been arrested by agents of the Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) on charges relating to child pornography . Richardson was taken into custody on Wednesday on a charge of transporting child pornography, at which time agents confiscated his computer and executed warrants at his home and church. According to a statement released by the office of U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper, Richardson has already admitted to ICE agents that he had been trading child pornography online using his work computer. The trading apparently took place on a “ Google Hello ” Internet program. The arrest was the result of a long-term investigation by ICE that involved at least two other persons. According to Roper’s statement, the investigation began in August 2007 when ICE Special Agents executed a search warrant in a child pornography investigation at the residence of an ind...

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by Carol Jensen Not only should American voters be skeptical about Republican VP-pick Sarah Palin's lack of qualifications to become potentially President of the United States, but just as disturbing should be how deeply her religious beliefs and practices, which are clearly out of the mainstream, could ultimately affect the rest of us. Her literal interpretation of the Bible leaves little room for the common sense approach that most political candidates in the 21st century factor into their policy decisions. The idea that someone with such extremist religious views could ascend to such power over the rest of us in this country, is truly a frightening prospect. Most of us have seen Palin's speech at the Wasilla Assembly of God Church from June of this year, now a You-Tube video, where she describes the war in Iraq as "a task from god" and the proposed gas pipeline in Alaska as "God's will." On that same tape, her form...

From the FBI website : NOAH A. THOMAS, JR., age 42, a resident of Marrero, Louisiana , was sentenced in federal court today by U. S. District Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt to seventeen (17) months imprisonment for mail fraud in connection with funds granted to the church he ministered, announced U. S. Attorney Jim Letten. According to the court documents, THOMAS plead guilty on April 9, 2008 to a one-count Bill of information. Prior to Hurricane Katrina, THOMAS was the pastor of Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church. When Katrina hit, the congregation’s building at 2241 South Liberty Street in New Orleans was devastated by flood water. The Church did not have flood insurance so the congregation applied for a SBA loan and a grant from the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund to offset the cost of rebuilding. The Church was awarded a $252,000 disaster loan from the SBA and a $35,000 grant from the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund. According to the factual basis, THOMAS created a scheme to defraud the Church of the...

JENSEN BEACH — The three women phoned Rodney McGill in hopes that he'd teach them how to get rich in a difficult real estate market. The 42-year-old McGill seemed a bona fide success. He drove a Rolls-Royce, hosted a radio show and was pastor of New Hope Outreach Center in Jensen Beach. His wife, Shalonda McGill, 36, was a mortgage broker. Instead of riches, state investigators said Tuesday, the would-be investors were duped. They paid the McGills inflated prices for homes that since have fallen into foreclosure or default. The McGills were arrested Tuesday on charges of racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, grand theft and obtaining a mortgage by false representation, the Florida Department of Financial Services said. The McGills bought four homes in Martin and St. Lucie counties by submitting fraudulent loan applications, then flipped the properties to clients for outsized profits, investigators said. The couple used bogus loan applications to borrow more than the pr...

Ray Boltz , who sold about 4.5 million records before retiring from Christian music a few years ago, came out of the closet Friday to announce that he's gay. In an interview with the gay magazine The Washington Blade , Boltz said he came out to his family and some close friends in December 2004, but only now decided to go public with the news. “I’d denied it ever since I was a kid," Boltz, 55, told the magazine. "I became a Christian, I thought that was the way to deal with this and I prayed hard and tried for 30-some years and then at the end, I was just going, ‘I’m still gay. I know I am.’ And I just got to the place where I couldn’t take it anymore … when I was going through all this darkness, I thought, ‘Just end this.’” One reason Boltz decided to come out now might be because he's performing Sunday at Jesus Metropolitan Community Church in Indianapolis, and then next Sunday, Sept. 21, at the Metropolitan Community Church of Washington, D.C. Both congregati...

Using the screen name "allentownhotguy," Paul Marmon built a rapport with his 15-year-old victim in an Internet chatroom, law enforcement authorities say. Then the 62-year-old retired pastor propositioned her for sex . At one point the South Whitehall Township man wrote, "You are so much more mature than most people think you or the average 15-year-old girl is," according to the state Attorney General's Office . Marmon, who was once pastor at St. James United Church of Christ on 15th Street, is now in Montgomery County Prison in lieu of $1 million bail. STORY LINK

It is the afternoon of September 25, 2000, and Jonathan Edwards is making his way to the triple jump final at the Olympic Stadium in Sydney. In his kitbag are some shirts, spikes, towels – and a tin of sardines. Why the sardines? They have been chosen by Edwards to symbolise the fish that Jesus used in the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000. They are, if you like, the physical manifestation of his faith in God. As he enters the stadium, he offers a silent prayer: “I place my destiny in Your hands. Do with me as You will.” A few hours later he has captured the gold medal, securing his status as one of Britain’s greatest athletes. “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” — Matthew xvii, 20 Edwards’s faith was never an optional add-on. It has been fundamental to his identity – something that has permeated every fibre of his being – since his trips...

Some false credentials for the Windsor pastor accused of inappropriate contact with teen girls have been provided at least three times since 2005. The incorrect credentials include academic degrees from schools he did not graduate from, pastoral jobs he did not hold and a police task-force position he never filled, according to interviews with school officials, people who worked with him and police. The Rev. Scott Allen Snyder, 35, of Windsor said he did not know where the information posted on his church Web site came from. He did not respond to requests for comment about resumes said to be from him that were provided by a previous employer, and he repeatedly declined to disclose an accurate educational history. "I simply am not going to bring embarrassment to other organizations for accusations of things that I did not do and certainly believe will all be dismissed when this is all said and done," Snyder said by e-mail. On Aug. 11, Pennsylvania State Police charged ...