The faith council advising the White House on policy prescriptions for a range of social issues submitted its final report Wednesday. Abortion reduction and religious hiring issues, two of the most contentious issues where faith and government intersect, was left off the table. The next council will be named in late spring/early summer, according to Faith Office Director Joshua Dubois. He said he doesn’t expect the next council to address the same issues this one did.

Illinois is considering a bill that provides for organ harvesting without a person's permission.

Unless new charges are filed against her, the last of 10 Southern Baptist mission volunteers jailed in Haiti on suspicion of child kidnapping will have to be released, according to an expert on Haiti’s legal system.  The Haitian judge overseeing the case involving the mission team composed mostly of members from two Idaho Southern Baptist congregations released the ninth team member, 24-year-old Charisa Coulter, on March 8.

Think of baseball hotspots and Eastern Europe does not ordinarily come to mind. However, baseball has been an integral part of the growth experience for some boys in Slovakia, where a sports ministry has helped give a different perspective on friendship and camaraderie in nation still recovering from decades of Communist oppression.

Budgeting for information technology resources is a given for many churches. The question becomes how to use computers and the Internet effective and keep its focus on extending the church’s presence and ministries. This may include establishing wireless networks and streamlining operations so everyone from the lead pastor to volunteers is able to use and share information effectively.