To do that, Young (pictured) and his spouse are staging a 24-hour “bed-in” on the roof of his Grapevine, Texas, church, Fellowship Church, right now.

People can tune-in for Young’s commentary and to see the bed-in, which started at 6 a.m. today at “Bed-in.”    

Young said the event is a tie-in to  a new book written by him and his wife “Sexperiment: 7 Days to Lasting Intimacy With Your Spouse.”  Actually, the bed-in is being streamed live on a website about the new book. “Sexperiment” was released on Tuesday.

I often watch Young’s TV show and enjoy his preaching on a variety of topics. He’s not afraid to tackle some heavy-hitting topics so I”m not surprised at his latest adventure.

I once saw him preach a sermon series about sex with a bed on the stage area of the church. He’s upped the ante with the bed on the roof, for sure. 

For a story about the bed-in, read on:  “Pastor-wife to spend 24 hours in bed on church roof to teach sex lessons”

Incidentally, according to the Christian Post’s story on the bed-in, Craig Groeschel, pastor of Edmond-based LifeChurch.tv, and his wife Amy, are among pastors who have endorsed the Youngs’ new book.

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor   

The televangelist will be the focus of a one-hour interview by Winfrey .

Winfrey traveled to Houston to meet Osteen (pictured) and observe his service at Lakewood, an OWN news release stated.

Winfrey then joined Osteen and his wife, Victoria, for lunch at their home, marking the first time they have opened their home to outside cameras, the news release said.

“Oprah spoke to them about faith, marriage, power and ego,” the release said.

Here’s a sneak peek at the upcoming episode: Oprah interviews Joel Osteen

Check your local listings to see what time the show airs in your area.

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor 

#Newsok

A Germany-based website now allows parishioners to rate their priest.

Rate as in share opinions about how he performs at church services, protects youths and the elderly and how up to date he is, among other things.

Apparently the site was launched in April.

Read the full  story here: Yahoo.com: “Rate Your Priest on New Website”

What would happen if priests and clergymen could rate their parishners? I wonder. 

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

Only the Thunder could bring about the perfect storm.

If the Memphis Grizzlies triumph over the San Antonio Spurs Friday, downtown Oklahoma City churches will suddenly have one more huge event to contend with on Sunday.

Some downtown churches are already operating on an adjusted scheduled due to Sunday’s Memorial Marathon, while members of some ministries are preparing to deal with the street closures and heavy traffic associated with the event.

Some of the churches, like First United Methodist Church of Oklahoma City, are having their Sunday service on Saturday as a way to head-off traffic and scheduling issues on race-day.

This year, with the last day of the Festival of the Arts — one of the event’s busiest — on Sunday as well, even more people are expected in the downtown.

And now, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s success may deposit even more crowds onto the streets of downtown: The first Grizzlies vs. Thunder playoff game is scheduled for noon Sunday.

At least one church leader, the Rev. Susan Joplin, said “It’s a good problem to have.”

“I think it’s absolutely thrilling that we have so many things going on downtown,” said Joplin, a canon at St. Paul’s Cathedral, 127 NW 7.

“I keep calling it a renaissance. Something new is happening in ways that we haven’t seen in a long time in Oklahoma City.”

While the NBA game could pose a surprise challenge for some downtown ministries, Joplin said it shouldn’t be an issue for St. Paul’s.

She said this year, the church is having “casual day” and encouraging members to dress informally. Also, she said the church is inviting runners to an outdoor Runner’s Communion Service at 10:30 a.m. in the church’s new labyrinth. She said St. Paul’s also is offering tours of the church beginning at noon.

“We just decided to go with the flow rather than fighting against it,” Joplin said. “We are in the heart of downtown Oklahoma City. Let’s be part of that heartbeat.”

Meanwhile, the Rev. Mark McAdow, senior pastor of First United Methodist Church of Oklahoma City, said most members of his church at 131 NW 4 will be immersed in marathon activities on Sunday.

“For us, it (noon Sunday playoff game) will be fine. With the marathon, we’re not having services anyway,” he said.

McAdow’s church offers activities through its Second Wind Ministries, such as a service for runners and their families on Saturday, and a free pancake breakfast and children’s play area on Sunday. Many of the church’s members also will serve as course marshals for the marathon.

McAdow said he’s not the type to be distressed about the game time and its possible ramifications regarding crowds and traffic, although he said he’s sorry the game is starting so early.

“I’m not the kind of guy to get upset about something like that,” he said.

“We need to support each other.”

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

Take a picture of yourself with ashes on your forehead and send it to a website that is compiling such photos through Thursday.

It’s all part of BustedHalo.com’s Third Annual Ash Wednesday Challenge.

The challenge is one of the more unique spins on Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the Lenten season.

It is the seventh Wednesday before Easter Sunday.

Ashes used to observe the day at Christian churches come from the burning of palm leaves used during Palm Sunday services the previous year. The ashes are placed on the forehead of congregants in the sign of the cross.

 The words “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return” remind believers of their mortality — that they are on Earth for a short time.

The Lenten season begins with Ash Wednesday tomorrow.

Take up the Ash Wednesday challenge by visiting www.BustedHalo.com.  Readers will be able to vote for their favorite Ash Wednesday photo posted to the site. BustedHalo also offers its “2011 Fast Pray Give Lenten Calendar.”

Or perhaps you might be interest in the following tidbits of news and information, all related to the observance:

– Eternal Word Television Network, the cable channel known for its Roman Catholic-themed programming, offers an online daily Lenten calendar with Lenten reflections: Lenten calendar  

– Here’s a link to a printable Lenten calendar for children. The calendar comes courtesy of a website called Catholic Icing: Printable Lenten Calendar for Children. 

– Beliefnet.com offers several stories, commentary and other features about Lent, plus a Lenten calendar: Lent 2011 

– Loyola Press has a variety of online resources for Lenten observers, including screen savers and an interactive calender, among other things: Lenten resources

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

The shortage of priests has brought the priests’ celibacy requirement to the fore again. Catholic priests are forbidden to marry but the USA Today report ponders whether the pope (pictured) would consider eliminating that prohibition to solve the priest shortage.

The Sunday Oklahoman features a story about the priest shortage in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. In the story, the Rev. William Novak, vocations director for the archdiocese, shares his thoughts about the impact the celibacy requirement may be having on men considering the priesthood.

Check out the Sunday Oklahoman for his comments.

To read the USA Today story, click here: Might Pope Benedict Consider Married Priests Again?

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

A company called Company Brickhouse Security is offering to place free GPS trackers on Baby Jesus statues to keep them from being stolen from Nativity scenes.

Apparently the company also has offered the devices to Jewish communities to keep their menorah candle holders from being taken during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.

A Boston Fox News affiliate reported that Company Brickhouse Security said the tracker means that if a thief makes off with the Baby Jesus statue or any other cherished item that it is attached to, a church, synagogue or other grop can log onto a computer or mobile phone to track the missing items. 

Here’s more about this latest blend of technology and faith: “Churches Fit GPS to Baby Jesus to Stop Nativity Thefts.” 

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

Following is the  list as featured in the December 2010 issue of Men’s Health:   

1.)   Colorado Springs, CO

2.)   Greensboro, NC

3.)   Oklahoma City, OK

4.)   Wichita, KS

5.)   Indianapolis, IN

6.)   Jacksonville, FL

7.)   Portland, OR

8.)   Birmingham, AL

9.)   Charlotte, NC

10.) Little Rock, AR

11.) Fort Worth, TX

12.) Montgomery, AL

13.) Raleigh, NC

14.) Durham, NC

15.) Virginia Beach, VA

16.) Charleston, WV

17.) Dallas, TX

18.) Omaha, NE

19.) Kansas City, MO

20.) Tulsa, OK

21.) Memphis, TN

22.) Houston, TX

23.) Des Moines, IA

24.) Anchorage, AK

25.) Seattle, WA

26.) Honolulu, HI

27.) Cheyenne, WY

28.) Phoenix, AZ

29.) St. Paul, MN

30.) Minneapolis, MN

31.) Nashville, TN

32.) Boise, ID

33.) Grand Rapids, MI

34.) San Antonio, TX

35.) Sioux Falls, SD

36.) San Diego, CA

37.) Lexington, KY

38.) Fort Wayne, IN

39.) Salt Lake City, UT

40.) Columbus, OH

41.) Tampa, FL

42.) Arlington, TX

43.) San Jose, CA

44.) Washington, DC

45.) Jackson, MS

45.) Baltimore, MD

47.) Orlando, FL

48.) Anaheim, CA

48.) Billings, MT

50.) St. Louis, MO

51.) Columbia, SC

52.) Riverside, CA

53.) Corpus Christi, TX

54.) Atlanta, GA

55.) Lincoln, NE

56) Modesto, CA

56.) Philadelphia, PA

56.) Las Vegas, NV

59.) Louisville, KY

60.) San Francisco, CA

61.) Pittsburgh, PA

62.) St. Petersburg, FL

63.) Denver, CO

64.) Bakersfield, CA

65.) Richmond, VA

66.) Spokane, WA

67.) Aurora, CO

68.) Albuquerque, NM

69.) Chicago, IL

70.) Cincinnati, OH

71.) Wilmington, DE

72.) Milwaukee, WI

73.) Cleveland, OH

74.) Austin, TX

75.) El Paso, TX

75.) New Orleans, LA

77.) Sacramento, CA

78.) Detroit, MI

79.) Buffalo, NY

80.) Los Angeles, CA

81.) Madison, WI

82.) Tucson, AZ

83.) Oakland, CA

84.) New York, NY

85.) Toledo, OH

86.) Reno, NV

87.) Fresno, CA

88.) Yonkers, NY

89.) Lubbock, TX

90.) Rochester, NY

91.) Miami, FL

92.) Newark, NJ

93.) Manchester, NH

94.) Fargo, ND

95.) Jersey City, NJ

95.) Portland, ME

97.) Hartford, CT

98.) Boston, MA

99.) Providence, RI

100.) Burlington, VT                

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor     

This year’s calendar “Love Revealed” will use music, video, photography and Scripture to tell the stories of young people across America who are growing into wisdom, advocating for change and creating a better world.

The calendar will be offered from Nov. 28 through Dec. 25.

In its news release, Trinity Wall Street said the multimedia calendar will focus this year on innovative church programs that are enriching the lives of young people.

Access the calendar here Love Revealed or go online to the following link: www.trinitywallstreet.org/advent 

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

Of note is the ”Guest Voices” commentary by Randy Roberts Potts, the grandson of renowned televangelist and Oklahoma native, the late Oral Roberts. Randy Roberts Potts, described at the end of the commentary as Oral Roberts’ gay grandson, talks about the way Christians see homosexuality: “Jesus’ message for homosexuals: It gets better.” 

The blog also features ”Guest Voices” commentary by Nihad Awad, the national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Awad’s subject is State Question 755 approved by voters Tuesday. It prohibits Oklahoma courts from considering international law or Sharia law when making decisions: “What banning Sharia law means for Oklahoma Muslims.”

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor