By Staff, GuideStone Financial Resources DALLAS — Today, five judges on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals sharply criticized the court decision that ruled against GuideStone earlier this summer. A three judge panel ruled against GuideStone and GuideStone participants Truett-McConnell College and Reaching Souls International in July. In a rare move, the entire Tenth Circuit, on its own initiative, took a vote on whether to reconsider the panel decision. When the vote narrowly fell short, the five judges issued a dissenting opinion. Their opinion explains why the panel decision was “a dangerous approach to religious liberty” that is so “clearly and gravely wrong” that it “will not long survive.” The HHS mandate requires ministries that are not churches or integrated auxiliaries of churches to provide abortion-causing drugs and devices in their health plans or to face crippling fines. The parties in the case have argued that a false “accommodation” offered by the government still forces the ministries to violate their faith. GuideStone, along with churches and a very narrow class of other ministries, are exempt from the mandate and its penalties. But hundreds of evangelical Christian ministries that rely on GuideStone … [Read more...]

By Timothy Head, GuideStone Financial Resources DALLAS — Monday’s stock market drop, on the heels of disappointing performance over the last few days, led to headlines and some investor concerns, but long-term investors should continue to consider their objectives and time horizons. David S. Spika, global investment strategist at GuideStone Capital Management, LLC, offered a commentary posted on GuideStone’s website explaining the nature of current volatility, as well as offered perspective on the current market. “As volatility rises, the best course of action is to ensure you invest with active managers who possess a strong track record, stay focused on the long term, and remain well diversified,” Spika wrote, likening market volatility to a roller coaster. Many observers have expected some level of correction to occur at some point given that markets had been on a long-term growth pattern since the market trough in 2009. The S&P 500 Index®, spurred on by quantitative easing and a near-zero Fed Funds rate, had gained more than 200% since 2009 and has not had a 10% or greater correction in more than three years, Spika observed. Active management firms, like GuideStone, are thought by many to be better suited for … [Read more...]

By Timothy E. Head, Baptist Press DALLAS (BP) -- The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Aug. 21 it would keep in place the preliminary injunction won by GuideStone earlier at the District Court level while GuideStone's appeals it case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The preliminary injunction, which protects certain ministries from providing abortion-causing drugs or devices in their health plan, or face crippling fines, was first issued by a federal judge in December 2013. Upon the government's appeal, a three-judge panel of the Tenth Circuit of Appeals ruled 2-1 to end the injunction. GuideStone, along with co-plaintiffs Reaching Souls International, an Oklahoma-based missions-sending organization, and Truett-McConnell College, a Georgia Baptist institution, appealed the Tenth Circuit's ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court in July. Churches and integrated auxiliaries of churches, including GuideStone, are already exempt from the mandate and its penalties as religious employers. GuideStone's current litigation was sought to protect other ministries it serves, such as children's homes, colleges and other ministries not controlled by a church or association of churches, from the mandate and its penalties. "What this means is … [Read more...]

By David Roach, Baptist Press DENVER (BP) - A committee of the Denver City Council has stalled what was expected to be routine approval of a Chick-fil-A restaurant at the Denver International Airport after at least four council members expressed disapproval of the company's alleged opposition to same-sex marriage. During an Aug. 18 hearing, council member Robin Kniech said she was concerned about a local franchise generating "corporate profits used to fund and fuel discrimination," The Denver Post reported. Councilman Paul Lopez compared the pro-family stances of some Chick-fil-A leaders to presidential candidate Donald Trump's comments about immigration and other issues, calling opposition to the airport restaurant "really, truly a moral issue." The council's Business Development Committee will take up the matter again at its Sept. 1 meeting. At issue is whether to approve a seven-year lease for a Chick-fil-A that would be operated by a 60-40 partnership involving Atlanta-based Concessions International and Denver's Delarosa Restaurant Concepts. Chick-fil-A would receive 7 percent of the restaurant's profits, according to The Post. If the committee rejects the lease, an individual member could still introduce the matter … [Read more...]

By Gregory Tomlin Christian Examiner NEW YORK (Christian Examiner) – The Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation has fired off a handful of threatening letters to universities demanding each one sack its "football chaplain." The letters to Auburn University, Georgia Tech, University of Georgia and University of South Carolina come after the atheist group – which has a long history of litigation –issued a 25-pagereport titled "Pray to Play" on the alleged abuses of Christian football chaplains at NCAA schools. According to FFRF, it conducted a year-long investigation into the activities of the chaplains and determined that all of the chaplains investigated "are promoting Christianity, usually with an evangelical bent." "These chaplains preach religious doctrine, including apparently creationism, to the athletes. Some universities, like Missouri, paid for chaplains and their wives and children to attend bowl games. Other universities paid chaplains for their services, including the University of South Carolina, which has a policy prohibiting such payments. Other universities, such as Auburn, give chaplains offices in the stadium. Chaplains were also involved in recruiting prospective athletes, raising the … [Read more...]

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Most Americans believe they are seeing an epidemic in the United States of people taking their own lives, a LifeWay Research study shows. But most Americans don't view suicide as a selfish choice, and they don't believe it sends people to hell, the survey finds. "Americans are responding with compassion to a tragedy that touches many families," said Scott McConnell, LifeWay Research vice president. "For example, as researchers learn more about the effects of mental illness, people may be more likely to react to suicide with mercy." In a phone survey of 1,000 Americans, LifeWay Research found more than a third (36 percent) have had a friend or relative commit suicide, and 56 percent describe suicide as an epidemic in the U.S. The study, released Aug. 21, is based on a survey conducted Sept. 26-Oct. 5, 2014. Concern is highest among the oldest half of the millennial generation, those 25 to 34 years old. This age group is more likely than others to perceive an epidemic of suicide (66 percent), say suicide is selfish (45 percent), and believe those who commit suicide go to hell (27 percent, matching 35- to 44-year-olds). Federal data show suicides have been on the rise since 2005. This is not … [Read more...]

RIDGECREST, N.C. (BP) -- Kelvin Cochran was enjoying newfound popularity in 1981 as one of the first black firefighters in Shreveport, La., when women began following him to the fire station with their phone numbers in hand, charmed by his presence on the back of the fire engine. The 21-year-old dated like "crazy" for four months, he said, until God woke him up one morning and changed his life. "Son, this is not the life I called you to. You need to find yourself a wife," Cochran remembers God saying to him. "So I took God very seriously and I thought, rather than trying to find someone that I never met, let me just take the time and pray and think of the girl that I admired the most growing up in Shreveport." His memories took him back to the fourth grade and a certain Carolyn Marshall, whom he found only after calling every Marshall in the Shreveport phone book. He persuaded her to invite him to the home she still shared with her mother in a public housing development. He proposed on that very night over hot chocolate, and without a diamond ring, at the kitchen table as her mother sat in another room. He and Marshall were married six months later. They celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary in June and have three … [Read more...]