Today we lead with this question: “How far should the church - your local church - be involved with this statewide effort?” California's Secretary of State says an initiative that would again outlaw gay marriage in the state has qualified for the November ballot. Debra Bowen says a random check of signatures submitted by the measure's sponsors showed that they had gathered enough for it to be put to voters. “Would you support ’offerings’ being taken in church on Sunday, so to make donations for TV/Radio ads statewide in California?” AP

Donating $10 to buy a mosquito net to save an African child from malaria has become a hip way to show you care, especially for teenagers. The movement is like a modern version of the March of Dimes, created in 1938 to defeat polio , or like collecting pennies for Unicef on Halloween. Unusual allies, like the Methodist and Lutheran Churches, the National Basketball Association and the United Nations Foundation, are stoking the passion for nets that prevent malaria. The annual “ American Idol Gives Back” fund-raising television special has donated about $6 million a year for two years. The music channel VH1 made a fund-raising video featuring a pesky man in a mosquito suit. NY Times

"The issue is ... whether or not creationism will be taught alongside evolution as science, which will absolutely undermine our kids' science education and their ability to compete for the best colleges and jobs of the 21st century," said Kathy Miller, president of the Texas Freedom Network, an Austin-based organization that advocates religious freedom and individual liberties. Those fears amount to hogwash, says board Vice Chairman David Bradley, R-Beaumont. Houston Chronicle

A church whose sole purpose is to purge the skid marks sin has left on man’s soul and our society. Biblical Christianity (operative word: biblical), lived and worked out in real time, has always been a life-stoking blessing in whatever land it took root. Historically speaking, when the church was healthy and righteous the nation it was in eventually prospered in muchos ways. However, when the “saints” started getting scripturally cross eyed, converted to the whims of culture and became lax in regard to God’s moral maxims, then what used to be a source of salt and light morphed into a font of slop and tripe and officially became a part of God’s—and that nation’s—problem. In my quasi-humble opinion that’s where I think a massive slice of the American church stands (or sits), namely in the way versus leading the way. Townhall

"If we don't start paying attention to the realities…by the year 2030, we will be proud to have 20,000 rather than 44,000 Southern Baptist churches." That's a quote from outgoing Southern Baptist Convention President Frank Page recently. According to a report in the Tennessean.com, Page believes the 16.2 million-member convention faces the same challenges that bedeviled other Protestant denominations — lower birthrates, aging demographics and a culture increasingly hostile to Christianity. In response, churches tend to circle the wagons and hang on for dear life. Monday Morning Insight

Passion, anger and straight talk in the pulpit. Here's an interesting segment from Mark Driscoll. And, before you think this was put out by one of Mark's detractors, this is actually posted by TheResurgence.com. It's great to see some passion, but you can tell he gets pretty perturbed! Presentation in video with the article. Monday Morning Insight

How bad is the housing market in California? In a sign of how difficult it is to sell new homes in Southern California right now, a San Diego developer is offering a "buy one, get one free" deal, pairing million-dollar homes with less expensive homes. "We thought, 'Why does it just have to be on Pop Tarts and restaurants? Why not buy one home, get one free,'" Dawn Berry of Michael Crews Development told 10 News in San Diego. Read the full article at the LA Times Blog Page .

Scientists are to be permitted to use tissue from dead people to create cloned human stem cells for research, under a legal change put forward by the government. UK Independent Times

San Francisco’s take on the announcement of the November “Marriage Initiative Amendment” to be placed on the ballot. A constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in California was placed on the Nov. 4 ballot Monday, kick-starting an election struggle that will have repercussions across the nation. Secretary of State Debra Bowen's certification of the initiative, which would amend the state Constitution to limit marriage to a union between a man and a woman, comes as no surprise to either side of the same-sex marriage issue. SF Chronicle

California consider a “prison inmate cap” I’m not joking here, they explain; “It makes it safer for everyone who's inside the prison system, both the inmates, the staff members - the correctional custody staff." Umm, what about the people in society and their safety? I’m sorry, that’s a dumb question. KABC

‘Sex and the City’ is a “big hit” this week…In the midst of the meaninglessness, a movie like Sex and the City does manage to offer a powerful reminder. It demonstrates, yet again, how utterly pointless life is - and how difficult relationships are - without a greater purpose for living. Crosswalk Opinion