December 2005

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Reprieved Xiaodong Li, the Chinese Christian denied asylum by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in August, from deportation. Li will stay because the Department of Homeland Security decided in October to withdraw its deportation appeal from the Board of Immigration Appeals. Ann Buwalda, founder and executive director of the human-rights group Jubilee Campaign USA, said she had never heard of a case that was reversed so quickly. She called it an "extraordinarily unique situation" and attributed the reversal to the groundswell of attention to the case. Then, on November 1, the Fifth Circuit Court vacated its decision. Li's lawyers will still argue that he should be granted full asylum.

Died Joseph W. Coughlin, founder of Christian Service Brigade (CSB), on October 2 in Calhoun, Georgia, after a short illness. He was 86. Coughlin taught at Houston College, Covenant College, and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He also served as a missionary in Costa Rica. csb, a discipleship ministry for boys, began with a Sunday school class Coughlin taught during his sophomore year at Wheaton College in 1937.

Died M. Scott Peck, bestselling author of The Road Less Traveled, on September 25 of complications from cancer. He was 69. Peck's work pioneered the self-help genre and challenged the view that religious belief is pathological. He emphasized self-discipline with help from God. The Road Less Traveled endured on The New York Times bestseller list for more than 13 years.

Resigned Stan D. Gaede, as president of Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, effective when the academic year concludes in June. Gaede, 58, will return to Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts, where he will become scholar in residence at the Center ...