Final exam practice exercise

JRN 2201

THE FACTS:

The Rev. Ralph Scrushy has been pastor of Last Baptist Church of Troy for 20 years. During that time, the church has quadrupled to 1,800 members and has averaged 50 baptisms per year -- a record high mark among Alabama Baptist churches. He is a popular revival evangelist in other churches, and three times he has given the keynote sermons at state Baptist conventions.

You are the editor of a website that covers local news. Today, Scrushy, 45, sent you an email announcing that "I am resigning as pastor immediately for health reasons." He said he has no plans to continue preaching or to seek a staff position at another church. Instead, he and his family will move to the Bahamas, where the climate will help him recuperate from his health problems. He did not specify what those problems are, and he did not answer your follow-up emails and phone calls.

In the email, he also asked you to remind people that the church will hold its annual Second Amendment Wild Game Dinner on Saturday night, and tickets are $15 each.

Scrushy announced his retirement to his congregation through Twitter. He said his health won't permit him to preach another sermon here, and he will leave town within the week.

"The Lord has been good to our church," he tweeted. "I know he has plans for me. I will follow his call. Please pray for me and for this great church."

Meanwhile, you learned that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service sent Scrushy a certified letter marked "personal and confidential." It lay unopened yesterday on a desk in the church office for three hours and was seen by the church secretary and three deacons, who have confirmed its existence to you.

Two days ago, an IRS agent visited you and asked to look at past stories you had published about church mission trips that Scrushy led to Mississippi. When you asked why, the agent told you on background that the IRS was investigating the possibility that as much as $50,000 from church offerings had been lost by gambling in Mississippi casinos.

You are a close friend of the church's chairman of deacons. You phoned him, and he told you he'd been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury about what takes place during church mission trips. He showed you the subpoena. It directed him to bring the grand jury any records he possessed of church offerings, other revenues and expenditures -- especially money spent on and during mission trips and any money that might have been gambled or lost in Mississippi casinos.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT:

Write the lede of a story to be posted now on your website.