By Art Toalston and Bonnie Pritchett, Baptist Press WASHINGTON (BP) - Houston Baptist University and East Texas Baptist University are appealing to the Supreme Court in challenging the Obamacare mandate to provide insurance coverage encompassing abortion-inducing drugs. HBU and ETBU in conjunction with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty along with Westminster Theological Seminary filed a petition July 8 with the high court in response to a June 22 ruling by a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that the mandate did not and, likely, would not "substantially burden their religious exercise." In all, 56 cases involving 140 nonprofit plaintiffs have been filed against the mandate, according to the Becket Fund. Among various cases in the news is a last-minute temporary injunction granted to Little Sisters of the Poor from facing enforcement of the mandate in January 2014. Two other Baptist entities -- GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention and Truett-McConnell College in Georgia -- are involved in a separate challenge (GuideStone v. Sebelius), joined by Reaching Souls International, an Oklahoma-based missions organization. A federal district judge's injunction blocking … [Read more...]
Page: Be God-empowered in a fallen culture
By Diana Chandler, Baptist Press BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (BP) -- Long before the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage nationwide, Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee President Frank S. Page had planned to preach a sermon at Living Hope Baptist Church on "Finding Hope in a Fallen Culture." "Pastor Jay Pettus, who is away on sabbatical, had enlisted me to preach probably a year or more ago," Page told Baptist Press, "asking me to preach on how to have hope in a [post-] Christian, postmodern culture. The message had already been planned," connecting "powerfully with the events of the previous day. It just shows the power of the Holy Spirit." That same power will enable Christians to stand firm in faith and proclaim the spiritual truth of marriage the nation has deserted, Page said in his message at the Bowling Green, Ky., church. "When societal forces rise up -- we say we will stand against you in the power of the name of the Lord God Almighty," Page preached. "We either believe in it, or we might as well go home." If leaders will stand on the power of God's Word, congregations will be emboldened to follow, Page said, using the text of the shepherd boy David slaying Goliath in 1 Samuel 17, followed by the … [Read more...]
After gay marriage: next steps for LGBT activists
By David Roach, Baptist Press NASHVILLE (BP) -- With same-sex marriage now legal in all 50 states, pro-gay activists are shifting their focus to issues like alleged workplace, housing and public accommodations discrimination. Some have even proposed stripping churches of their tax-exempt status and legalizing polygamous marriage. Pro-LGBT activists view the Supreme Court's legalization of gay marriage "as a means to a greater end," said Jon Akin, pastor of Fairview Church in Lebanon, Tenn. -- "a huge means, but I certainly don't think it's the end. I think many will not be happy" if the advance of gay rights "doesn't go further." Akin, a member of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission's leadership council, has helped equip Fairview's members to share Christ with the homosexual community and respond to pro-gay activists. He told Baptist Press that in his experience, the push for expanded LGBT rights typically "doesn't come from animus of any kind. It stems from wanting cultural affirmation, seeing any form of discrimination as inequality." Following the June 26 Supreme Court ruling, the advocacy group Freedom To Marry said it would shut down and redeploy many of its resources to a new group called Freedom For … [Read more...]
Hineston woman starts Facebook page to get Christians voice heard again
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer HINESTON – A Hineston woman has started a Facebook page to get Christian voices heard again. Tiffany Busby Dunn, a member of Mt. Moriah Baptist Church in Hineston, started the Facebook page “The Christian Flag Movement” around 2:15 am today. By 4 pm, the page had received 394 likes. Dunn said that her heart was burdened over the attacks Christians in the United States have faced over the past several years. After talking with a friend who planned to display the flag in her home, Dunn felt led to take a stand and start the Facebook page. “We have been discouraged from public prayer, and told that the Bible is no longer welcome in most schools,” she said. “We have been criticized for our morals and fundamental belief system, all the while being told we should be more open minded to the beliefs of others. “The symbol of the Cross has been attacked on many occasions by different groups because it is ‘offensive to them’ while Christians are expected to suffer in silence and not say anything when something offends us,” she continued. “If we do speak up we are labeled judgmental or prejudice.” Dunn hopes all Christian denominations will take up the challenge to display the … [Read more...]
SBC panel: Value love, Gospel with LGBT community
By Tom Strode, Baptist Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) - Christians should not undervalue the effect of love or the Gospel in relating to gays and lesbians, recognizing, however, that faithfulness to the biblical definition of marriage will prove costly, members of a special panel told messengers at the 2015 Southern Baptist Convention. During the Wednesday afternoon session (June 17), five panelists answered questions from SBC President Ronnie Floyd about how churches and pastors can minister in an American culture that increasingly approves of homosexuality and same-sex marriage. The discussion occurred about two weeks before an expected U.S. Supreme Court ruling that could result in gay marriage's legalization nationwide. Same-sex marriage already is legal in 37 states and the District of Columbia. In addition, the conversation came on the same day Floyd and 16 former SBC presidents released a statement saying they will not perform and the churches they pastor will not host same-sex ceremonies. Rosaria Butterfield, an author who has chronicled her journey from lesbianism to Christ, told messengers not to "deny the power of the Gospel to change lives and to travel at the grass-roots level. Your friendships … [Read more...]
ERLC to open Mideast office, honors embattled florist
By Art Toalston and Erin Roach, Baptist Press COLUMBUS (BP) - An international religious freedom office in the Mideast will be opened by the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, Russell Moore announced at the SBC annual meeting June 17. Moore, the ERLC's president, told messengers, "We must contend for religious freedom for our brothers and sisters in Christ and for everyone else wherever they are on the globe." He added, "We will not stand idly by while those with whom we will share eternity are being led to the slaughter." Also during the ERLC report, Barronelle Stutzman, the Washington state florist punished for refusing to participate in a same-sex wedding, received a standing ovation by messengers at the convention in Columbus, Ohio. "Mrs. Stutzman knew that the truth is not up for sale and the Gospel doesn't bend to the highest bidder," Moore said, "and faithful Christians do not stow away their convictions in a blind trust when they enter the public square." International religious freedom The ERLC announced the appointment of Travis Wussow of Austin, Texas, as ERLC director of international justice and religious liberty in a news release, also on June 17. Through its … [Read more...]
Luter among past SBC presidents releasing a joint statement on same-sex marriage
By Staff, Baptist Press COLUMBUS, Ohio - Past Southern Baptist Convention presidents - including Fred Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans - along with current SBC President Ronnie Floyd have released a joint statement on same-sex marriage. The full text of the statement follows along with the names of the former SBC presidents who have endorsed it: As Southern Baptist Christians, we are committed to Biblical faith and ethics. As a result, this body of Believers stands on the authority of Scripture and God’s Truth as central to our lives. What the Bible says about marriage is clear, definitive and unchanging. We affirm biblical, traditional, natural marriage as the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. The Scriptures’ teaching on marriage is not negotiable. We stake our lives upon the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus. Consequently, we will not accept, nor adhere to, any legal redefinition of marriage issued by any political or judicial body including the United States Supreme Court. We will not recognize same-sex “marriages”, our churches will not host same-sex ceremonies, and we will not perform such ceremonies. While we affirm our love for all … [Read more...]
Guide to protect churches from ‘sexual liberty’
By Tom Strode, Baptist Press WASHINGTON (BP) - The Southern Baptist Convention's religious liberty entity has collaborated with a leading legal advocacy organization to provide guidance for churches and other institutions in the face of the advance of "sexual liberty" and same-sex marriage. The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) have published "Protecting Your Ministry," a legal manual for Southern Baptist churches, schools and ministries. The 44-page booklet is designed to equip SBC and other evangelical churches and institutions with legal protection against sexual orientation and gender identity lawsuits. The manual includes checklists to guide Christian institutions on maximizing their religious liberty protections under the law and maintaining their freedom to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus. It also provides sample documents -- such as a membership agreement, facility use policy and article for a statement of faith -- to assist churches and other ministries. ERLC President Russell Moore said he is thankful to work with ADF "to produce this resource to help equip churches on how to remain faithful to our mission in a culture that often disagrees with our … [Read more...]
Texas abortion law gets 2nd federal court win
By Sharayah Colter/Southern Baptist Texas NEW ORLEANS (BP) - Contested portions of a 2013 Texas pro-life law, which continually have been challenged in court by abortion advocates, were upheld June 9 by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. The decision to uphold the law as it was passed likely will mean that 49 licensed abortion clinics in Texas will be reduced to eight, as Texas House Bill No. 2 (HB 2) requires abortion facilities to comply with ambulatory surgical center standards. The nonprofit Texas Values pro-family organization called the standards “steps to protect women who go into abortion facilities from being less likely to jeopardize their own lives” in June 9 news release. Texas Values, led by attorney Jonathan Saenz, played an instrumental role in HB 2’s passage in 2013 and has since worked to defend the measure in court and in the public square. “Today we are thankful that the Fifth Circuit upheld a law that protects both women and children,” Saenz said. “The court’s decision ensures that abortion clinics must uphold basic health standards -- standards that are required of other surgical centers in the state.” An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is expected by HB2 opponents, with Center … [Read more...]
Carver: ‘withhold judgment’ on Marine’s conviction
By David Roach, Baptist Press JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (BP) -- Although evangelical commentators have protested the court-martial conviction of a Marine who defied an order to remove a Bible verse from her workstation, the North American Mission Board's executive director of chaplaincy says believers should reserve judgment because there likely is "much more to this particular story than Scriptures that were just in a public place." Douglas Carver When news breaks of an apparent religious liberty violation like this case, "everyone is alarmed," Douglas Carver, the former U.S. Army chief of chaplains, told Baptist Press. But usually "as you begin to dig," there's "more to the issue." Carver added, "From my perspective of 38 years in the military, I have found no more fair legal process than military justice. It's thorough. It's fair. It's merciful." The Marine at the center of the case, Lance Corporal Monifa Sterling, has appealed her conviction to the highest military court, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. Sterling was convicted of violating a lawful order after refusing to obey a staff sergeant's 2013 order to remove three copies of Isaiah 54:17 -- "No weapon formed against me shall prosper" -- from her … [Read more...]