Oregon school district bans a senior class motto

BLUE RIVER, Ore. – A rural Oregon school district has banned a proposed motto for a graduating high school class because it contains a religious reference.

Some of the 90 seniors at McKenzie High School had been inspired by a Bible verse quoted at the August funeral of a classmate killed in an all-terrain vehicle accident.

The entire verse was: “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles.”

The students deleted any references to God in their proposed motto – “They that believe shall mount up with wings as eagles” – but McKenzie School District officials rejected it as too religious.

Senior Brianna Rux said the verse seemed fitting, given that the school’s mascot is the Eagles, and that class members have pulled together to rise above their grief.

But the school district’s attorney said omitting the reference to God from the verse doesn’t alter its biblical origin.

Bible class conflict

MACON, Ga. – A growing number of Georgia public school systems are shying away from developing state-approved Bible classes.

The state school board finalized curriculum for the elective classes in March, but some districts say they’d rather leave that instruction to churches.

Other districts say they don’t have the money for materials and staffing of a class on the Bible, or would have a difficult time finding a teacher who can teach the course without injecting religious views, as stipulated by the state.

Georgia’s school systems are the first in the nation to offer publicly funded Bible classes after lawmakers passed a bill allowing the courses in 2006.

Lawmakers in Alabama, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas have considered similar plans this year, although none has received final approval. One proposal in Texas would require all high school students to take a Bible class.

Shot in the arm?

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – To get people to attend his new church campus, pastor Robbie McLaughlin is sending his message out to where the people are.

Staffers from the Next Level Church of Matthews will go to bars in the Ballantyne area of Charlotte to hand out shot glasses that ask patrons to “give us a shot” and bear the slogan, “Real church for real people.”

Founded in 2005, Next Level is an evangelical church that encourages members to dress casually and snack on coffee and doughnuts during services.

McLaughlin said the idea has caught on, and in two years, the church has grown from a handful of members to more than 700.