Brentwood residents successfully quashed plans for a mosque in their town as plans to convert a historic theater in Antioch into an Islamic center continued despite local opposition. But it was Murfreesboro that got the most attention from national media, the Justice Department, and local politicians. A court has ruled that construction of an Islamic center there can continue, but a legal challenge is ongoing.

At the same time mainstream denominations lose thousands of members per year, churches such as Crosspoint are growing rapidly - 15 percent of all U.S. churches identified themselves as nondenominational this year, up from 5 percent a decade ago. A third dropped out of major denominations at some point.

Their members are attracted by worship style, particular church missions or friends in the congregation.

At the same time mainstream denominations lose thousands of members per year, churches such as Crosspoint are growing rapidly - 15 percent of all U.S. churches identified themselves as nondenominational this year, up from 5 percent a decade ago. A third dropped out of major denominations at some point.

Their members are attracted by worship style, particular church missions or friends in the congregation.

And when David - a former shepherd boy, an adulterer, and a murderer - heard this news, he responded by saying, "Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me thus far?"

The priest was John Newton, and those words struck a deep chord in his heart as he thought about the year gone by and the year yet to come.