OK, that title is a little over the top. Neither Lay nor Skilling have put Jesus on their witness list. However, Lay has two pastors of megachurches on his character witness list. Lay attends First United Methodist Church and his pastor will vouch for him, but Lay will also call Dr. Ed Young to the stand. No one else in Houston would come as close to matching the impact that Jesus or any biblical figure would have as a character witness. Dr. Young is the pastor of Second Baptist Church, the single largest adult ministry in the United States, and fairly loved in Houston. I think the calling of men of the cloth as character witnesses here is fascinating, and I look forward to seeing what effect it has on the jury (if we ever know). Of course, Lay may get a new trial if Judge Lake has to strike all jurors that attend Second Baptist, which could be all of them.
(And yes, I am coming close to liveblogging the livebloggers. That's seems kind of pathetic, I guess.)
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1. Posted by Steve Bainbridge on January 30, 2006 @ 11:28 | Permalink
Hey, if it worked for Scrushy ...
2. Posted by tim zinnecker on January 30, 2006 @ 13:40 | Permalink
Actually, Lakewood (Joel Osteen) may have "the single largest adult ministry in the United States." When it comes to numbers, one notable difference between Second Baptist and other mega-churches is the fact that Second has three Houston "campuses" rather than just one Sunday gathering place. Anyone interested in a so-called "fellowship of excitement" franchise?
3. Posted by Christine on January 30, 2006 @ 13:53 | Permalink
Second Baptist's website made the claim, with 40,000 members. Lakewood (according to belief.net) is the largest "church," with 30,000 members. Very large, either way.
4. Posted by tim zinnecker on January 30, 2006 @ 14:30 | Permalink
Query which number is closer to the average number of those who attend a Sunday worship service on a regular basis. Membership rolls at churches can be significantly out-of-date. Even so, and as you say, a significant number of folks attend Sunday morning worship services at these two prominent Houston churches.
5. Posted by Jeff Berman on January 30, 2006 @ 14:55 | Permalink
I say, reconsider the venue motion and move the trial to New York.
6. Posted by anon on January 30, 2006 @ 17:08 | Permalink
I think Billy Graham has been called as a character witness.
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