| Revelations 03/17/2001 T.D. Jakes: The perfect 'Storm'?
In case you don't know what the Potter's House is all about, listen up. The Storm Is Over, the first CD from Bishop T.D. Jakes' new record label, Dexterity Sounds, was released this week. Featuring the Potter's House mass choir, it's the first project from Bishop Jakes' joint venture with the powerhouse EMI Gospel label. The album, which Bishop Jakes calls "a musical expression of what Potter's House is all about," was recorded in December at the 26,000-member church in southwest Dallas. Its release coincides with a new book by the bishop, titled The Great Investment. Bishop Jakes will promote both the CD and book from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at Mardel, 3919 W. Airport Freeway, Irving; and from 5 to 7 p.m. at Wherehouse Music, 3936 S. Polk St., Oak Cliff.
Vox populi, vox dei?
America's Catholic bishops are using the Internet for the first time to ask lay Catholics about church life. The survey at www.laysurvey.org asks for suggestions on how parishes can improve education, liturgy, prayer, moral formation, communal life and missionary spirit. In the first week, more than 5,000 people submitted answers. But how will the church know that everyone who offers an opinion is Catholic? "Based on faith," said Anna Villamil, assistant director for youth ministry and ecclesial lay ministry. She laughed and went on: "It takes time to fill the survey out and if people want to take the time, we'll be glad to see it." The survey site will be active through May 13.
Making lemonade
The Hassidic Discovery Welcome Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., is trying to turn some remarkably negative publicity into a plus for the relatively little-known Jewish sect. In the wake of controversy over President Clinton's pardons of several members of a New York Chassidic community – did he do it to garner votes for his wife's Senate campaign? – the Brooklyn Discovery Center suggests that this is a great time to tour the Chassidic community, either in person or online at www.jewishtours.com: "Please be open and frank; this is your opportunity to find out answers to questions that are not addressed in the Hollywood portrayals of Hassidic Life such as the movies; Yentl, The Chosen, or A Stranger Among Us."
Faltering faith?
Can belief be charted like a stock index? The Barna Research Group's annual suvery of Christian belief is just out. The word from Barna: "stagnant." Answers to a few questions shifted a bit. Compared with 10 years ago, a few more people fit the "born again" definition – 41 percent, up from 35 percent. But numbers dropped for those who said they had read a Bible other than in church (45 percent to 34), attended a service (49 percent to 42) or volunteered at a church (27 percent to 20) in the week before being questioned. See www.barna.org.
Jeffrey Weiss
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