April 28, 2015 • ISSUE 48
CAUTION URGED WITH YOUTUBE KIDS APP
THE MOST TERRIFYING SENTENCE IN MINISTRY
Gary Ledbetter
Must ‘good business’ be amoral?
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he Texas Association of Business (TAB) is apparently pretty spooked by recent events in Indiana and Arkansas. After those states passed laws intended to protect religious freedom for all their citizens, and similar to the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act signed by the first President Clinton, various outsiders decided to threaten the states. Angie’s List, the City of Seattle, the NCAA and the state of Connecticut each promised boycotts or some similar punitive measure against the Hoosier state. Arkansas’ own 500-pound gorilla, Wal-Mart, made low, rumbly noises after that state’s legislature passed its own RFRA. That’s all it took. What was a few minutes ago a matter of conviction became a “catastrophe” for those two governors. So they blinked; they began apologetic rewrites of the laws to make sure that no one is offended or inconvenienced by the notion of religious liberty— especially that the states’ bottom lines were not inconvenienced. Well, TAB is concerned that our own state’s law, which they say allows for all kinds of mistreatment of our sexual minorities, could open us up to threats of financial loss. I have a couple of observations on that subject.
First, I have to wonder what would happen if Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Texas and every other state with a RFRA stood firm. OK, maybe the city of Seattle could get away with banning travel of city employees to all but coastal states. Maybe the state of Connecticut could limit its own endorsement to states that have, perhaps coincidentally, legalized the recreational use of marijuana. But would Toyota, Angie’s List, Dell and the Dallas Mavericks move out of state for the sake of conscience? Where? California? It would be the opposite of the dilemma for pro-family folks who want to boycott those who disagree with us on important issues. Nearly all airlines, telecomm companies, tech companies, department stores and television networks would be off limits for us. Boycotts have that limitation; they can sometimes become as impractical as boycotting idol worshippers was in the first century Roman Empire. If these states had kept one day to the convictions they held the previous month, without regard for the threats of billionaires, the threats would have dissipated as the companies faced the choice between business-friendly states and those less so. Second, I doubt there is any reason to think that Texas law has resulted in people left homeless, battered and starving because of their sexual behavior. None of the 20 or so laws targeted by LGBT advocacy groups would decrease the quality of life of any Texas citizen; they are, rather, intended to protect the minority opinion of biblical Christians. I also doubt there is any reason to think that Texas will crash and burn economically if we overtly protect religious liberty for even conservative Christians. Texas Competes, which might be described as a more aggressive spin off of the TAB, has a couple of charts on their site to support the assertion that companies
with “anti-discrimination” policies perform better than do companies without. This is a way that statistics are misused—correlation is not always causation. Did they, for example, compare Apple’s performance with that of Radio Shack or maybe ChikFil-A with Long John Silver’s? No experienced consumer believes that those companies are on their present trajectories because of what they have said, or did not say, about a person’s sexual behavior. And again I raise the specter of California. Is California broadly perceived as less business friendly than Texas because Californians are less affirming of unusual ideas than are Texans? No, so progressive social mores are apparently not the same as progress, growth or even financial solvency. As simply as I know how, for the sake of the billionaires in the audience: people gathering in various places for religious purposes is freedom of assembly; what people do in those assemblies is freedom of speech; what those people do when they disperse into their neighborhoods, schools and workplaces is freedom of religion. Texas will be a better place for all Texans and for their vocations if its citizens are free to believe what they believe, and to live by those beliefs until the state can show a compelling reason to limit that religious expression. Finally, I don’t understand all the ways that philosophy, religion and conviction fit into the quality of a community’s life, but I do think they are more important than do some of the CEOs of Texas’ largest companies. If you change your convictions about man and God in an effort to stay ahead of a market, you’ll do it pretty often. “Conviction” becomes an absurd concept if you change it for pragmatic reasons. That applies to billionaires and governors, even as it does to you and me.
CONTENTS
ISSUE
#48 Petition falls short in bringing Houston Equal Rights Ordinance to voters After two months of post-trial deliberation about the law and signature legibility, District Judge Robert Schaffer ruled April 17 that plaintiffs seeking to reverse the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) fell short in securing the minimum number of petition signatures. Though disappointed with the judgment, plaintiffs and their supporters said their resolve to continue the legal and cultural battle is only strengthened.
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THE WORST Seventy-five volunteers representing 20 churches across Texas gathered at RockPointe Church in Flower Mound, April 11, to learn from disaster relief veterans at the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s (SBTC) Phase I Disaster Relief day-long training. They left as fully certified DR volunteers or “yellow hats.”
What is Marriage? Author, research fellow defends traditional view of marriage
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Ryan T. Anderson, who co-authored the book What Is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense, spoke at North Richland Hills Baptist Church on the topic, “What is Marriage?” NRHBC Pastor Scott Maze said the aim of the community-wide event was to equip people with accurate information with regard to the marriage conversation. Rather than appeal to the Bible or even to morality, Anderson explored the concept of marriage as a policy institution. Specifically, he examined why government is involved in “the marriage business” to begin with.
Caution urged with YouTube Kids app
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Google’s new YouTube Kids app may be a welcomed addition to children-friendly entertainment, but parents should still study the programming before exposing their children to its content, some Baptist communicators say. TEXAN Magazine is e-published twice monthly by the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, 4500 State Highway 360, Grapevine, TX 76099-1988. Jim Richards, Executive Director Gary Ledbetter, Editor Keith Collier, Managing Editor Sharayah Colter, Staff Writer Russell Lightner, Design & Layout Gayla Sullivan, Subscriptions
Contributing Writers Diane Chandler, Bonnie Pritchett, Jane Rodgers, Alex Sibley, Craig Thompson
To contact the TEXAN, visit texanonline.net/contact or call toll free 877.953.7282 (SBTC).
sbtexan
texanonline.net
sbtexan
C O L U M N : The Most Terrifying
Sentence in Ministry
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Pastor Craig Thompson says the sentence, “I wish my husband was more like you,” and similar statements can be red flags for pastors. He goes on to say, “As leaders we are encouraged when people respond well to our leadership. As a result we must be aware that the weaknesses that our biology and our positions leave us with make us vulnerable to temptation from those who look up to us.”
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WHITE HOUSE DECRIES THERAPY FOR HOMOSEXUALS The White House’s claim that so-called conversion therapy for homosexuals should be illegal has sparked replies from Christian ministers and counselors who say President Obama’s position is based on biased research and threatens religious liberty. “This is a tragic example of having a president who is fundamentally opposed to a Christian worldview and making statements that are really shaped more by the worldview of exclusive humanism,” said Eric Johnson, a Southern Baptist Theological Seminary professor who serves as director of the Society for Christian Psychology. The White House’s statement “is reflective much more of the culture wars that we’re in the midst of right now than it is based on good science.” In response to a petition that garnered 120,000 signatures, White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett issued a statement April 8 asserting that conversion therapy, also known as reparative therapy, is “neither medically nor ethically appropriate and can cause substantial harm.” The statement affirmed laws in New Jersey, California and the District of Columbia banning state-licensed therapists from using conversion therapy on minors experiencing samesex attraction and noted that similar legislation has been proposed in 18 states. Read the story here.
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800,000 CHILDREN DISPLACED BY BOKO HARAM
One year after Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from Chibok, Nigeria, more than 800,000 children remain displaced by the Islamic militant group’s onslaught in Nigeria and neighboring countries, UNICEF reported April 13. The number of displaced children—among 1.5 million people forced to flee their homes in the region—has more than doubled within the past year in northeast Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad, UNICEF stated in a report titled “Missing Childhoods: The impact of armed conflict on children in Nigeria and beyond.” The 1.5 million refugees and internally displaced persons in the region are among an overall 3.5 million-plus people who face months of food shortages from the insurgency, according to news reports of projections by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network in March. Read the story here.
GLOBAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM DRAWS APPEAL FROM INFORMAL COALITION
GAY MARRIAGE GAP WIDENS FOR EVANGELICALS AND CULTURE Americans who have gay or lesbian friends are twice as likely to say gay marriage should be legal as those who have none. And more than half of Americans, meanwhile, say homosexuality is not sinful. Such survey results place evangelicals increasingly in a minority position in American culture over same-sex relationships. Read the story here.
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The Southern Baptist Convention’s lead religious freedom advocate is part of a widely diverse, informal coalition urging Congress to strengthen protections for the rights of people of faith overseas. Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, signed on to a letter sent April 14 to members of a House of Representatives subcommittee seeking their support for the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). The bill, which will update the original IRFA of 1998, is designed to enhance the United States’ ability to promote religious freedom globally. It also will reauthorize the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) through 2021. In the letter, the International Religious Freedom Roundtable says approval of the legislation is “not only the right thing to do but it is in our vital self-interest to do so.” Read the story here. —Briefly section compiled from Baptist Press, other news sources and staff reports
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ARRESTS OF CUBAN CHRISTIANS REMEMBERED A group of about 400 Baptists met April 7 at Iglesia Bautista Getsemaní in Miami to mark the 50th anniversary of the arrests of several pastors, missionaries and laity in the western part of Cuba by the Castro government. “We do not come to make old scars bleed,” said Samuel Alemán, a pastor from Georgia and son of one of the pastors arrested, “but rather to celebrate as [God] was in control of what happened.” The pastors were arrested on charges that included conspiracy against the security of the nation, illegal currency exchange, collaboration with the CIA, assisting people to leave the country illegally, and proselytizing. Read the story here.
MIGRANTS DESPERATE; EASY PREY FOR SMUGGLERS Unable to survive in their wartorn or impoverished homelands, migrants are easy prey for illegal smugglers who charge as much as $5,000 for passage to what is touted as paradise. But paradise is rarely found. More than 800 migrants were killed when the smugglers’ boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya on April 18. The 2015 death toll from failed passages could top 30,000, nearly 10 times the 2014 total of 3,279, the International Organization for Migration has warned. While some European countries are praised for their treatment of migrants who make it safely ashore, Christian aid workers on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus told Baptist Press migrants there face maltreatment and are economically disenfranchised. Read the story here
EGYPT’S PRESIDENT PRESSURED TOWARD REFORM
SYRIAN REFUGEES TO HIT 4M; BAPTISTS CONTINUE SERVING
Egypt’s president, who challenged senior Muslim clerics to reform their teachings rather than fuel extremist ideologies, now is being challenged by observers who say he lacks a formal plan for moving toward a moderated Islam. Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi’s speech, though hailed by Westerners as courageous, will do little to help his nation’s persecuted Coptic Christians and others if strong action related to the rhetoric is not realized, said Samuel Tadros, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom.
Syria entered its fifth year of conflict in March with the grim report that an estimated 220,000 people have been killed since fighting began in early 2011. In addition, registered refugee numbers soon will hit the 4 million mark, according to the United Nations. Amid such trauma, Christians continue to have unprecedented opportunities to share the Good News.
Read the story here.
‘RADICAL RIGHTEOUSNESS’ NEEDED FOR S.C. SHOOTING Christians should respond with godly grace and wisdom to the shooting death of unarmed black citizen Walter Scott at the hands of white police officer Michael Slager, an urban ministry leader and a criminal justice professor told Baptist Press in the days after the officer was charged with murder. D.A. Horton, a preacher, rap artist and North American Mission Board national coordinator for urban student missions, addressed the incident during the April 8 chapel service at Charleston Southern University, just miles from where the incident occurred in North Charleston, S.C. Radical righteousness as opposed to retaliation should prevail when such tragedies occur, Horton said. Read the story here.
Read the story here.
CHRISTIANS FORM HUMAN CHAIN TO PREVENT MUSLIMS FROM THROWING THEM OVERBOARD After a group of Muslims traveling on a migrant boat in the Mediterranean Sea reportedly threw about a dozen Christians overboard, killing them, remaining Christians on the boat locked arms to avoid the same fate. Italian police arrested 15 men in connection with the murders which survivors report were religiously motivated. Read the story here.
TENN. TURNS BACK BIBLE AS OFFICIAL STATE BOOK The Bible will not become the official state book of Tennessee—at least not this year. The Tennessee Senate voted 22-9 to send the Bible bill to committee April 16, effectively killing the measure after it had passed the House of Representatives the previous day by a 55-38 margin. Read the story here.
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MIDWESTERN UNVEILS “ONLINEYOU” INITIATIVE Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has unveiled “a new way of doing online education” in its new online education initiative “OnlineYou.” Midwestern President Jason Allen said the focus of OnlineYou, which encompasses all of the seminary’s graduate and undergraduate online offerings, is to provide students a customized educational experience. “In establishing OnlineYou, we have customized our online education program, making it personalized to every student, to their specific calling of ministry, and to gear their online experience directly toward what God has called them to do,” Allen said. Read the story here.
BAPTIST PRESS LAUNCHES APP WITH SBC VERSATILITY Baptist Press, the Southern Baptist Convention’s news service, officially launched a free app April 13 connecting to its daily content and to key entities across SBC life. The app is available in both Android and iPhone formats through Google Play and the Apple Store. Enter a search for “Baptist Press,” using quote marks, for best access to the app. The app replaces Baptist Press’ mobile site by which smartphone users accessed the news service prior to the redesign of its website last September. Read the story here.
GREEAR TO NOMINATE FLOYD FOR 2ND TERM Arkansas pastor Ronnie Floyd will be nominated for a second term as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, North Carolina pastor J.D. Greear announced April 20. Floyd “is a leader God has raised up for us at this crucial hour, and sensing God’s hand upon him, I want to see him lead us for another year,” Greear, pastor of The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, N.C., wrote in a statement to Baptist Press announcing his intention to nominate Floyd at the June 16-17 SBC annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio. Read the story here.
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CHIP LUTER EMBRACES OPPORTUNITY IN TAMPA Fred “Chip” Luter III has accepted a call as a campus pastor in Tampa, moving from New Orleans where he has served as youth minister under his father, former SBC President Fred Luter. Chip Luter will become pastor of the Sulphur Springs campus of Idlewild Baptist Church beginning May 1. Read the story here.
CARSON TO WITHDRAW AS PASTORS’ CONFERENCE SPEAKER Likely Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson and leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention Pastors’ Conference have “mutually agreed” that Carson will not address the Pastors’ Conference in Columbus, Ohio, as previously scheduled. “We didn’t want this to become a distraction for our convention,” Pastors’ Conference President William Rice told Baptist Press. “A number of people began to write about it and express their views on it, and it threatened to become a distraction we never wanted it to be. We felt like for the health of the convention, the health of the Pastors’ Conference ... the better thing to do was to mutually agree it’s not the right time to do it.” Carson, a cultural commentator and professor emeritus of neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, was scheduled to address the Pastors’ Conference on Sunday evening, June 14, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. But some Southern Baptists raised theological and political concerns in late March and April, with Texas pastor Bart Barber and Baptist21, a network of younger Southern Baptist leaders, posting blog articles objecting to Carson’s scheduled appearance. Read the story here.
LIFEWAY TO SCREEN 2 MOVIES AT SBC LifeWay Christian Resources will screen two new movies in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio. LifeWay Films will screen “War Room,” a new movie from Alex and Stephen Kendrick, the award-winning creators of “Fireproof” and “Courageous.” War Room explores the power of prayer and stars Priscilla Shirer, Alex Kendrick and Beth Moore. The film will be released nationwide August 28, and the SBC screening will be Monday, June 15, at 9:00 p.m. in the Battelle Grand Ballroom of the Greater Columbus Convention Center (GCCC). A trailer of the movie is available at WarRoomtheMovie.com. The next night LifeWay will screen the upcoming movie “Woodlawn,” based on the true story of a spiritual awakening that captured the heart of nearly every football player at Woodlawn (Ala.) High School in 1973, a school filled with racism. Woodlawn, from the producers of “October Baby” and “Mom’s Night Out,” will be released to theaters Oct. 16. The SBC screening will be Tuesday, June 16, at 9:00 p.m., also in the Battelle Grand Ballroom, GCCC. Read the story here.
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PREPARED FOR
THE WORST Disaster Relief training equips church members for hands-on gospel ministry S T ORY B Y JA N E R ODGER S
P H O TOS B Y A N DR EW PEA R LE FLOWER MOUND
Seventy-five volunteers representing 20 churches across Texas gathered at RockPointe Church in Flower Mound, April 11, to learn from disaster relief veterans at the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s (SBTC) Phase I Disaster Relief day-long training. They left as fully certified DR volunteers or “yellow hats.”
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“Expect to share your faith when you deploy,” SBTC Director of Disaster Relief Scottie Stice told the assembled crowd in the afternoon as he reviewed biblical foundations, philosophies, policies and procedures. “We need you to deploy,” Stice continued, noting that the SBTC has DR funds, trailers and trained volunteers but needs workers to be available when disaster hits. “Tornado, hurricane, terrorist attack— when things are disrupted, we get ready.” When disaster strikes and assistance is requested by local or government agencies or Baptist entities like the North American Mission Board and the International Mission Board, the SBTC’s DR team jumps into action. Task force directors mobilize volunteer networks and deployments take shape. Stice urges churches and individuals to contact SBTC DR when they hear of disasters in their areas. “Seven hundred homes flooded in Eagle Pass, but this did not make the Dallas news,” Stice said. While no major, longterm DR deployments have happened since May 2014, one-day deployments are not uncommon, Stice noted. In longer disasters, volunteer teams generally serve for a week, relieved by other teams that rotate in. While DR volunteers usually use vacation or personal time to deploy, Stice urges them, “Do not put your job in jeopardy.”
“Expect to share your faith when you deploy.” SCOTTIE STICE
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Stay Connected with SBTC Disaster Relief Online: sbtexas.com/dr Facebook: SBTC Disaster Relief Ministry Twitter: @DR_SBTC
How Can I Help?
In the field, teams follow strict leadership protocols. Looking across a DR unit, this leadership structure is visibly seen by the colored caps worn by volunteers. The “white hat” is the overall incident leader while “blue hats” are team leaders. Both of these groups have undergone advanced leadership training. Team members—“yellow hats”—adhere to this chain of command to ensure order and safety. During the April training, Stice allayed the group’s concerns regarding preparedness. “Veterans always go with new volunteers on deployments,” he explained, noting that among the most important assets of a DR volunteer is “a willing and cooperative spirit.” Besides willing spirits, DR volunteers need steel-toed rubber boots, work gloves, sleeping bags, cots, blankets, pillows, tetanus shots, other immunizations and DR certification. Volunteers asked to use personal vehicles are reimbursed for mileage or gasoline, and volunteers traveling to DR sites are reimbursed for reasonable meal and lodging expenses. Quoting retired SBTC DR director Jim Richardson, Stice added, “We want you to eat like royalty: Burger King, Dairy Queen.” Safety is paramount for DR volunteers, Stice said, humorously recalling the time a DR group leader called him with an unexpected question, “Did you know that a power washer will cut a rattlesnake in half?” SBTC DR task forces include volunteers trained in clean up and recovery, feeding, chaplaincy, operations, communications, child care, water purification, and showers and laundry service. The Phase I morning training featured task force representatives providing instruction in the basics of these areas, and the afternoon’s general session introduced them to overviews of all DR areas.
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Pray for: u DR Staff u DR Task Force Leaders, supporting and cordinating DR volunteers state wide u DR Volunteers u An increase in interest and volunteer numbers u The re-organization and growth and expansion of the Texas DR ministry Give u Donate online to our general disaster relief fund. Every cent will go to the most crucial immediate needs. Provide Shelter for Refugees u If your church is interested in offering their facility as a shelter, please contact the SBTC DR office. Volunteer To volunteer to be trained as an SBTC Disaster Relief Volunteer, you must: u Be an active member of a Southern Baptist church u Have a letter of recommendation from the pastor on church letterhead for the individual(s) from that church u Be at least 18 years old u Be in good health u Have a servant heart
Upcoming DR Trainings May 2 (Phase 1) FBC Rosehill, Tomball May 21-23 (Phase 1 & 2) Lakeview Baptist Assembly Camp & Conference Center, Lonestar
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Monte “Cowboy” Furrh (left) from Boyd Baptist Church in Bonham consults fellow SBTC Disaster Relief volunteer Gary McDugle of Bois D’Arc Baptist Church in Palestine as to how to remove a burned tree next to a damaged house, with additional help from a Missouri volunteer.
5SBTC Disaster Relief volunteer Sherry McDugal of Palestine works with a chainsaw crew at one of over 150 jobs where Southern Baptist volunteers tackled clean-up and recovery. SBTC teams participated in over a dozen of the projects resulting from the June 4 lightning strike that caused The Little Bear Fire north of Ruidoso, N.M. 3The shell of a wood-burning stove remains after a home burned in the mountains north of Ruidoso in June 2012. Cooperative Program gifts made it possible for Southern Baptists to deploy over 180 volunteers from New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Arizona. PHOTOS BY CARI PHILLIPS
CLEAN UP & RECOVERY One-third of Saturday’s Phase I trainees participated in the clean up and recovery training session led by Monte Furrh, who shared DR “war stories” while outlining procedures and safety issues. Recalling an episode in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, Furrh told trainees that when his SBTC clean up and recovery team pulled into a New York neighborhood to help, they were greeted with questions of “How much is this going to cost?” “Nothing. Jesus Christ paid for it,” Furrh replied to the astonished homeowners.
Clean up and recovery in areas damaged by storms may involve removing mud from flooded homes; removing damaged sheetrock up to the water line; treating affected areas with an anti-mold solution; and removing cabinets, fixtures, flooring and even bathtubs. DR volunteers also remove damaged furniture and appliances. “The homeowner is always the boss,” Furrh emphasized. “If the homeowners say not to remove that sheetrock or those cabinets, we don’t. We explain the hazards, but they make the final decision.”
Clean up and recovery units may also involve chainsaw work, but Furrh said, “You will not cut down a tree with the SBTC unless you go through training,” adding that safety is paramount and SBTC chainsaw training is second to none. OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE Shawn Kemp, pastor of Van Alstyne’s The Crossroads Community Church, and his wife, LaRissa, brought a group of 13 to the training. “We had the opportunity to come and get trained so that we could deploy with DR and follow Jesus’ lead in ministering to people who are hurting,” LaRissa Kemp said. APRIL 28, 2015 TEXANONLINE.NET 9
“My husband and I helped out with disaster relief at a small church where we were before. We just like to serve and help and pick up people when they are down,” said Talana Foley of Crossroads, echoing Kemp’s sentiments. Another woman from Crossroads, Janet said she liked the fact that DR ministry allowed her to serve even though she likes to “stay in the background.” NOT JUST PHYSICAL WORK While much of the visible ministry of DR teams involves physical labor, volunteers never forget the spiritual aspect of their work. For this reason, SBTC deploys trained chaplains are deployed with all SBTC teams during disasters. “Ours is a ministry of presence,” Gordon Knight, SBTC director of chaplains, told trainees. “The main purpose of our training is to give people hope.” Giving people hope in the Lord Jesus Christ is the ultimate aim of SBTC DR.
“The main purpose of our training is to give people hope.” GORDON KNIGHT Rich fellowship also occurs among DR team members during deployments, Stice said. “Some of the best fellowship you will ever experience” may well happen on a DR deployment, Stice told volunteers, describing how DR teams gather in the evenings to debrief, pray and share what has happened in the field each day. Spiritual preparation is as important as physical and emotional preparation for DR volunteers, Stice said. “Poverty and disaster go hand in hand sometimes. It hurts,” he stated, calling volunteers to be people of prayer and Bible study.
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Cody Whitfill, pastor of River Valley Christian Fellowship in Bastrop, along with his wife Melinda and their children, gaze at the charred remains of their home near Bastrop. PHOTO BY BRENT BURDEN
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SBTC DR teams use the tract “Hope in Crisis,” based upon the book of Job, to share the gospel. PREPARED TO GO When the SBTC is asked to deploy and the alert level changes to “standby,” teams are prepared to go within 24 hours. Many times, SBTC teams arrive in a disaster area before any other relief agencies or emergency service personnel. Despite a solid core of volunteers ready to go at a moment’s notice, there is always room for more. Churches wishing to know more about DR training or outfitting DR trailers should contact the SBTC for further information.
Doing cleanup on his first deployment as a Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteer, Ray Parker joined a feeding unit at Bastrop, Texas, preparing meals for crews battling wildfires as well as families whose homes have been destroyed or damaged. At the time, Kevin Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board, said SBDR has “helped thousands of people this year and seen hundreds come to faith in Christ. Now we need the next group of trained volunteers to step up and say, ‘I will go.’” PHOTO BY BONNIE PRITCHETT.
FORMER MISSIONARY NOW LEADS SBTC DISASTER RELIEF By Jane Rodgers GRAPEVINE Scottie Stice knows that behind every disaster lies an opportunity for sharing the gospel. After six months as interim, Stice became the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s third director of Disaster Relief on Jan. 1, 2015, following the retirement of Jim Richardson. Involvement in DR work has characterized Stice’s ministry for decades. In 1996, Stice and his wife, Judy, were appointed by the IMB to Central America as church planters. Within a year, Hurricane Mitch devastated the region, and the Stices were assigned to a yearlong disaster relief deployment in El Salvador to work with victims. “In El Salvador, we used DR to dovetail into forming evangelistic Bible studies, which became churches,” Stice recalled. “It was something God did.” The Stices spent seven years in El Salvador before returning to Texas in 2004, when Stice became director of missions for the Del RioUvalde Baptist Association. That April, the Mexican border town of Piedras Negras flooded. By fall, the Del Rio-Uvalde association had acquired a DR trailer from the SBTC and started a mud-out unit. “This was during the early days of SBTC DR work,” Stice explained. “Back then, the SBTC would buy the trailer, which the association would outfit.”
Vacation Bible school offerings from two small South Texas Baptist churches—FBC Eagle Pass and FBC Rocksprings—provided funds to outfit the trailer. “God really stretched those dollars, and we outfitted a recovery unit,” Stice said. Stice’s plans for SBTC DR ministry include continuing the good work of his predecessors. “We have what (SBTC Executive Director) Jim Richards has described as a premier state convention disaster relief ministry. We plan to keep training and preparing our volunteers to go out and minister to victims and to share the Lord Jesus Christ when we go. We have good teams in place,” Stice said, noting that he saw “no problems” and “plenty of opportunities” for the future of SBTC DR.
Stice also noted that the SBTC will be offering several Saturday Phase 1 DR and chainsaw team trainings at various locations this spring. Classes are listed at sbtexas.com/ evangelism/disaster-relief/training-schedule. Besides his DR and missions work, Stice has served as an SBTC field representative in pastorchurch relations. Since 2009, he has also pastored Southwest Texas Cowboy Church in Uvalde. Before his appointment by the IMB, Stice pastored a church in El Paso. Prior to this, he was an outreach minister at First Baptist Dallas under pastor W.A. Criswell. A graduate of Criswell College, Stice holds a Masters of Arts in Missions from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he is currently pursuing doctoral work. The Stices have four children and two granddaughters.
SBTC DR Director Scottie Stice helps individuals with paperwork during Phase 1 training, April 11. PHOTO BY ANDREW PEARLE
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? E G A I R R A M S I WHAT Author, research fellow defends traditional view of marriage By Alex Sibley NORTH RICHLAND HILLS
In less than two weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on four marriage cases. The marriage laws of the states from which these cases stem—Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan—were all upheld by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in accordance with state voters’ decision that marriage is the union of a man and a woman. Although judges in other states have struck down similar marriage laws, these four states’ marriage laws were upheld. As a result, all four cases have been appealed to the Supreme Court, with a decision to be made later this year. Speaking at North Richland Hills Baptist Church (NRHBC), April 15, Ryan T. Anderson, a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, said, “What stands on the line here are all state marriage laws. If the Supreme Court 12 TEXANONLINE.NET APRIL 28, 2015
Ryan T. Anderson, senor research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, discusses marriage at North Richland Hills Baptist Church, April 15. PHOTO BY NEIL WILLIAMS
upholds these marriage laws, your marriage law in Texas remains good law. If the Supreme Court strikes down these laws, by implication, it will be striking down your law as well, and marriage will be redefined in all 50 states.”
Anderson, who co-authored the book What Is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense, spoke at NRHBC at the invitation of the church’s pastor, Scott Maze. Maze said the aim of the community-wide event was to equip people with accurate
information with regard to the marriage conversation. Rather than appeal to the Bible or even to morality, Anderson explored the concept of marriage as a policy institution. Specifically, he examined why government is involved in “the marriage business” to begin with. He began by articulating the two conflicting views of marriage in today’s society. Advocates for same-sex marriage, in Anderson’s words, define marriage as “an intense, emotional, romantic, caregiving relationship.” “So [according to this view], what makes marriage different than other type of relationship is the intensity of the emotional bond,” Anderson explained. “It has what every other relationship has, but it just has more of it.” Noting that this view is not restricted to same-sex marriage, Anderson acknowledged that many heterosexual couples view marriage in the same way. The problem with this view, then, is not related to homosexuality, but rather to what Anderson labels a bad philosophy of marriage. He explained that, as a product of the sexual revolution, this philosophy led to the rise of sexual promiscuity and out-of-wedlock childbearing as well as an increase in divorce rates. By contrast, Anderson said the more traditional view of marriage is distinct from other adult consenting relationships in three ways. First, it unites spouses—by means of physical intimacy—in heart, mind and body. Second, this act is inherently ordered toward creating and then raising new life. And lastly, marriage is governed by comprehensive commitments— specifically, pledges of permanence and exclusivity.
“If you’re not interested in entering into a male/female, husband/wife relationship, then you’re not interested in getting married. You’re interested in having some other type of relationship, and the law doesn’t prevent you from doing so. People in all 50 states are free to live and to love how they want; they’re not free to have the state redefine what marriage is.” —RYAN T. ANDERSON
Building on this foundation, Anderson explained, “The reason government is in the marriage business is because the union of a man and a woman can produce a child, and someone needs to be responsible for that child. Marriage is the institution that societies all throughout history and all across the globe have devised to maximize the likelihood that a man commits to a woman, and the two of them—committed to each other—take responsibility for raising that child.” Regarding the significance of these two visions of marriage in light of the upcoming Supreme Court hearings, Anderson explained, “The law will either embrace one vision of marriage or the other. The law will teach, and as the law teaches, it shapes our culture. Our culture then shapes our beliefs. Our beliefs then shape our actions. So over time, you will see one vision of marriage or the other impact the way that your children and grandchildren understand what marriage is, which will then impact how your children and grandchildren live out their own marriages.” Acknowledging the possibility that the government will redefine marriage nationwide, Anderson listed three potential consequences: (1) if marriage is
regarded as a genderless institution, there will be no institution left in public life that upholds even the ideal that every child deserves both a mother and father; (2) other aspects of marriage will also be redefined (as evidenced by the coining of terms referring to three-person relationships and open marriages); and (3) the law will treat those who hold the traditional view of marriage in the same way it treats racists. Concerning this third point, Anderson noted that in states that have already redefined marriage, Christian-run adoption agencies have been shut down and bakers, florists and photographers have been fined for refusing to aid in the celebration of same-sex weddings. Anderson concluded by clarifying that support for the traditional view of marriage does not equate to denying the rights of homosexual couples. “If you’re not interested in entering into a male/female, husband/ wife relationship, then you’re not interested in getting married,” he explained. “You’re interested in having some other type of relationship, and the law doesn’t prevent you from doing so. People in all 50 states are free to live and to love how they want; they’re not free to have the state redefine what marriage is.” APRIL 28, 2015 TEXANONLINE.NET 13
Petition falls short in bringing Houston Equal Rights Ordinance to voters By Bonnie Pritchett HOUSTON After two months of posttrial deliberation about the law and signature legibility, District Judge Robert Schaffer ruled April 17 that plaintiffs seeking to reverse the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) fell short in securing the minimum number of petition signatures. Though disappointed with the judgment, plaintiffs and their supporters said their resolve to continue the legal and cultural battle is only strengthened. Hernan Castano, a member of the racially diverse coalition of pastors opposing the ordinance that gives protected class status based on sexual orientation and gender identity, told his congregation Sunday, “We are going to stand stronger on justice and truth.” The pastor of Rios de Aceite encouraged believers to pray, to remain active in the cultural debate surrounding the ordinance, and to speak God’s truth in love. Last May, the Houston City Council passed the Equal Rights Ordinance following contentious public debate. Those opposed to the ordinance—led by the Houston Area Pastors Council (HAPC)—gathered more than 50,000 signatures on a referendum to repeal it only to have their efforts thwarted by May-
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Plaintiffs’ attorney Andy Taylor brings pastors up to speed on the proceedings in the Woodfill v Parker case prior to a jury’s original verdict, Feb 13. PHOTO BY BONNIE PRITCHETT
or Annise Parker and then-City Attorney David Feldman. Thousands of signatures were dismissed, and the city declared the petition failed. The coalition of pastors sued but lost the first legal round when a jury ruled in February the petition failed to meet the signature requirement of 17,269. A post-verdict ruling by Schaffer allowed oncedisqualified signatures to be reconsidered as valid. Two months later, after back-and-forth disparate briefs were filed by both parties, Schaffer ruled the plaintiffs fell 585 signatures short. The petition
failed, and the ordinance, which had not been implemented during the referendum effort and trial, would now be in force. “We have a HERO!” Parker wrote on her Twitter feed. “We passed a good ordinance. We were right to reject repeal petition; jury agreed with us, judge agreed with us!” During the public debate over the ordinance Parker, a lesbian, said its passage was personal to her and she would not allow anyone to vote on her civil rights. Schaffer’s ruling ended the opponents’ effort to put the ordinance to a city-wide vote
in November. And Parker, in a brief statement on the city’s website urged against an appeal adding, “Now all Houstonians have access to the same protections.” Also included in the protected characteristics are sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, familial status, marital status, military status, religion, disability, genetic information and pregnancy. Federal law affords protections based on race, sex and disability, making the Houston ordinance redundant in those areas. In response to the verdict, newly appointed city attorney Donna Edmundson mischaracterized the coalition’s efforts as “pro-discrimination.” On the city’s website she stated, “This is a great victory in the courts and a great day for civil rights in Houston, Texas. I am gratified that the judge signed a final judgment rejecting the plaintiffs’ claims and confirming that their pro-discrimination referendum petition failed.” But Castano, interviewed throughout the trial by Spanishlanguage television stations Telemundo and Univision, said, “The
people’s right to vote has been ignored and rejected. The mayor has been trying to force her agenda on the people at all costs.” As of April 21, plaintiffs had not publicly stated their appellate plan, but HAPC Executive Director Dave Welch told the TEXAN, “We will appeal, and we will fight for justice, what is right before God, and for the rule of law all the way to the Texas Supreme Court.” Once filed, the appeal would be heard by the 1st or 14th Texas Court of Appeals in Houston. Andy Taylor, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, stated repeatedly throughout the trial and post-verdict deliberations that the appellate court typically weighs its judgments more favorably on the side of voters’ rights, something Taylor said the defense and Schaffer obfuscated. “I think Schaffer made our job on appeal easier,” Taylor said Friday following the judgment. Taylor criticized the judge for accepting the defense argument requiring all petition circulator signatures be legible. In doing so, he opened the door for the defense to broaden its scope of “illegible”
signatories; if the circulator’s signature at the bottom of a page was illegible, then all voter signatures collected on that page were invalidated. Taylor said the defense’s number of invalid signatures tossed out on that point more than tripled from 2,500 at the end of the trial to 8,500 in its final judgment statement. “So that’s what the case ended up turning on,” Taylor said. The legibility argument sets a “dangerous” precedent, making the judge the sole arbiter of legibility and, ultimately, which voter signatures will be counted on the petition. Taylor argued the dismissal of voter signatures based on circulator penmanship establishes a de facto challenge to an individual’s right to vote. Taylor said he was confident thousands of voter signatures will be reinstated on the petition by the Texas Court of Appeals. But the loser at that level could appeal to the Texas Supreme Court, where plaintiffs already filed a Writ of Mandamus last August seeking an expedited ruling in the case.
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Caution urged with YouTube Kids app By Diana Chandler NASHVILLE Google’s new YouTube Kids app may be a welcomed addition to children-friendly entertainment, but parents should still study the programming before exposing their children to its content, some Baptist communicators say. As more companies release these types of apps, parents need to determine whether an organization’s definition of “kid-friendly” matches their own definition, said Darrel Girardier, digital strategy director for Brentwood Baptist Church in Brentwood, Tenn. “I’m finding that while a good portion of the content is more okay for my child to consume, not all the content represents something that I want my child to model,” Girardier told Baptist Press. “Parents are going to need to spend [time] doing some additional curating with these apps and understand that the ‘default’ setting probably won’t cut it.” Google markets the free app, launched in February, as a method of safe and easy access to familyfriendly shows, music and educational programs on topics of interest to children. It includes parental controls and has received favorable reviews on Google, averaging 4.1 out of 5. More than three-fourths of reviewers rated the app 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale. Michael Foust, a blogger about family issues and the father of
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“I tested it, and it does indeed do a stellar job of filtering out the worst of YouTube. It even includes some good Christian content. That said, parents should not give their children blanket usage of YouTube Kids,” —MICHAEL FOUST three small children, also cautioned parents to be aware of the content available through the app. “YouTube Kids, despite its innocent name, contains content that many conservative Christian parents would want their children to avoid,” Foust, a former associate editor for Baptist Press, told BP. “A quick search provides videos on evolution, Islam and Hinduism. Like any other electronic gadget
or new app, parental guidance is strongly encouraged.” The app can be used constructively in parenting if proper caution is applied, Foust noted. “I tested it, and it does indeed do a stellar job of filtering out the worst of YouTube. It even includes some good Christian content. That said, parents should not give their children blanket usage of YouTube Kids,” he said. “Most children
already receive too much screen time, and YouTube Kids—like the adult version—can be extremely addictive. Before you know it, you’ve spent an hour watching pointless videos and chasing video rabbit trails— time better spent reading or playing outside.” Girardier, Like Foust, considers the app a welcomed addition to kid-friendly programming options. “It’s great to see more companies like Google and Netflix attempt to curate content that is deemed appropriate for children and package it in an easy … format,” he said. Girardier offered additional cautions. “Apps like these encourage parents to let these devices babysit their kids,” he said. “As a parent, I myself have handed my iPhone to my child so my wife and I could have a few moments of uninterrupted conversation. “… These apps and devices reinforce the fact that the boundaries between us and media [are] continuing to fall,” he said, questioning whether children would be disciplined enough to take breaks from apps to maintain balance or perspective. “For our children, they won’t know what it’s like to be bored since entertainment is always at arms’ length.”
“… These apps and devices reinforce the fact that the boundaries between us and media [are] continuing to fall. For our children, they won’t know what it’s like to be bored since entertainment is always at arms’ length.” —DARREL GIRARDIER
Google advertises YouTube Kids, available on Google Play and the App Store in the U.S., as the first Google product built from the ground up with children in mind. The app is said to have a bright and playful design and allows parents to control the length of time children can use the app, and sound and search settings. “For years, families have come to YouTube, watching countless hours of videos on all kinds of topics,” Google said in a press release announcing the new app. “Now, parents can rest a little easier knowing that videos in the YouTube Kids app are narrowed down to content appropriate for kids.”
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Craig Thompson
The Most Terrifying Sentence in Ministry “I wish my husband was more like you.” This is a sentence I have heard in one form or another multiple times throughout my ministry. Sometimes it is worded differently because it comes from a single woman who “would love to meet someone like you.” Sometimes the scary sentence is actually made up of a series of compliments over weeks or months, “your sermons mean so much” with a gentle touch on the shoulder. Rarely, the statements come in the form of a full out assault from a young woman who looks for opportunities to compliment you and hug you in front of your wife (yes, we actually experienced that one time). Now, I know that as I write this some hear me saying that women are evil manipulators, but that is not my intention at all. In fact, I would say that most of the women who have ever put me into awkward situations with their compliments or actions have done so without ill intention. Often they are hurting women in troubled marriages that perceive the preacher on a stage as the embodiment of much that they are missing. Regardless of the intention on the part of those expressing gushing compliments, a man can find himself in the middle of a conundrum. As men, we enjoy having our egos stoked. As leaders we are encouraged when people respond well to our leadership. As a result we must be aware that the weaknesses that our biology and our positions leave us with make us vulnerable to temptation from those who look up to us. Our flesh is often weak even when our spirit is willing.
There are steps that every minister should take to protect himself and those around him from moral failure. They include accountability in counseling, never being alone with people of the opposite sex in a room without a window, etc. However, I’ve found a few steps that are important in situations where boundary lines have potentially been crossed (intentionally or unintentionally). 1. Tell your wife. When I counsel with women I share with them that I plan to share their situation with my wife. I trust her counsel for the lives of others and I trust her to hold me accountable (Of course, my wife also keeps me humble by reminding me in these situations that I am not God’s gift to women) 2. The moment that a woman utters a version of the terrifying sentence written above, I immediately look for an exit. If it is a counseling session I look for a way to bring it to a close. If it is in a hallway in the church building I bring the conversation to an immediate end. In these situations I no longer offer individual counseling, I will offer to counsel with a married couple, with my wife present, or with another member of our church staff. 3. Seek out accountability. Share your concerns with a trusted leader in your church or another staff member who can help ensure you are never alone— even in a hallway—with a person who has made any kind of advance. 4. Seek the welfare of the other person. A person who is hurting needs help. Remember that you are not the only person who can offer help to the hurting. Pass them along to another woman or a different counselor for help and ministry. This is not an exhaustive list, and I’m sure that some may have other suggestions. The most important thing to remember is not which list to follow, but simply to have a plan in place before the need arises. As a professor used to tell me, “in the middle of the storm is no time to stake the tent.” —Craig Thompson is pastor of Malvern Hill Baptist Church in Camden, S.C. This article first appeared on the Pastors Today blog.
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