Feb. 24, 2015 • Texan Magazine • Issue #44 by Southern Baptists of Texas Convention

February 24, 2015 • ISSUE 44

Evangelism initiative challenges churches to reach 1 million homes with gospel by 2018

OBAMACARE CAUSES CHURCH TO CLOSE DAY CARE

PARENTING THROUGH THE LIBYAN MASSACRE

Gary Ledbetter

Fundamentalism and Orthodoxy

hen the Muslim terrorist organization Islamic State killed 21 Egyptian Christians last week, many Americans didn’t know how to talk about the victims or their murderers. Some dodged the religious predilections of ISIS and others even the pertinent religious identity of the Egyptians. Then, of all places, the Atlantic published an article that helpfully described the religious context of this barbarian death cult. I heard an interview with the writer, and he further described the theological specifics of ISIS’ beliefs. A Muslim imam on the panel explained that few Muslims were actually as “literalist” as ISIS in their Koranic interpretations. He seemed to consider ISIS to be “fundamentalist” in a bad sense of that word. My first thought was to sympathize. I’ve heard all kinds of weirdness called Christianity by those who neither understand nor love Christians. Just think of the endless confusion in the media during the presidential run of Mitt Romney a couple of years ago. Mormons call themselves “Christian” and may think themselves to be that, but many of us consider their use of the term unorthodox—referring to someone other than the only begotten, fully divine son of God. In that conversation, we were the fundamentalists because we were insisting on a plainly biblical description of Christianity. Moderate and liberal Christians were more likely to see Mr. Romney’s Mormonism to be just another road up the same mountain we’re all climbing. No wonder those who had only a second-hand familiarity with Christianity and Mormonism found it confusing. The confusion related to Mormonism is between orthodox Christianity and a Christian heresy. Christian heresy can be best understood as an extra-biblical belief about the nature of our triune God. If you believe

that Jesus was a man but not God, or a spirit but not flesh, you believe a heresy that denies John 1:1-14. It’s tedious to outsiders who want to understand it in a sound bite, but we’re simply insisting on the definition of Christianity derived from God’s Word. The angst in the voice of the “modernist” Muslim cleric on the radio interview came from the other side, though. He was the one who was interpreting the Koran by culture, in contrast to the more “literalist” view of ISIS. Yes, this makes it even more confusing for those who talk about our faith from the outside to understand it. We Baptists insist on a more literal interpretation of our holy book, but we do not approve of those who commit murder based on their more literal interpretation of the Koran. Post 9/11, “fundamentalist” has been used as a flail against conservative pro-life and pro-family Christians by the ignorant or malicious who portray us as similar to Al Qaeda. All “fundamentalists” are said to be equally dangerous because those of some religions are murderous. Read major news magazines from 2001-2002 and see if I’m exaggerating. Let me break it down for you. Orthodox Muslim doctrine is different from orthodox Christian doctrine, and orthodox Mormon doctrine is different from both. It should stand to reason that the “fundamentalist” branches of those religions will be as different as their holy books and their doctrine. We will do different things because of these distinct teachings. Mormons do good works trying to win favor with God; Muslims highlight a different set of disciplines they hope will please Allah; and Christians preach a gospel of grace rather than works. Those who strain to emphasize the similarities between fundamentalists of all faiths are agenda-driven or ignorant. The liberal branches of those religions teach doctrines that are still distinct but much less so as they are lived out, by the way. That is one reason why everyone who is not Christian or Muslim or Mormon very much prefers a more moderate practice of those religions—it more closely resembles the way non-religious people talk and behave. We shouldn’t be surprised that other religions worship other gods or that non-believers are confused by the differences—their deepest need is not doctrinal but spiritual. At the same time we must be alert to our culture’s tendency to blend the doctrines of all religions into a gray, tasteless, useless goo. It is the difference between Christianity and other religions (which are actually very similar in their pursuit of works righteousness) that is offensive, a stone of stumbling. We are not Christian if we give up the exclusivity of salvation in Christ (John 14:6), the divinity of Christ (John 10:30, Titus 2:13) or the resurrection of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:17), and yet these things make us hateful to ISIS, Mormons, non-religious popular culture and even some Christianist liberals. Call it “fundamentalism” or “orthodoxy,” but this is the same gospel once for all delivered to the saints and repreached to the benefit of millions for thousands of years.

CONTENTS

Evangelism initiative challenges churches to reach 1 million homes with gospel by 2018

ISSUE

#44

06 Houston LGBT ordinance verdict leaves both sides claiming victory

In a verdict Feb. 13, a Houston jury ruled 10-2 in the lawsuit against the city and administrators for their summary dismissal of a petition brought by a coalition of pastors and civic leaders opposed to the city’s Equal Rights Ordinance. The jury found nearly 2,500 forgeries among the 54,000 voter signatures but dismissed the city’s allegations of fraud. No definitive winner was revealed by the verdict, which will not be finalized until 152nd District Court Judge Robert Schaffer issues his judgment.

West Texas church experiences ‘gospel revolution’ Calling it “a sweet movement of God,” no other explanation makes sense to Byron McWilliams when asked to explain the number of people taking a stand for Christ as the invitation is being offered at First Baptist Church of Odessa. After seeing more than 100 people make professions of faith during their Christmas celebration services, 100 more stood to profess Christ over the course of four Sunday morning services in January and early February.

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 Tammi Ledbetter, Nathan Lino, Erin Roach, Bonnie Pritchett

To contact the TEXAN, visit texanonline.net/contact or call toll free 877.953.7282 (SBTC).

sbtexan

texanonline.net

Obamacare causes Longview church to close day care

C O L U M N : Parenting through

the Libyan Massacre

Northeast Houston Baptist Church Pastor Nathan Lino shares how he talked to his children about the religiously fueled execution of 21 Christians in Libya by ISIS. Lino offers advice on how parents can disciple their children in light of a world rife with evil brutality and Christian martyrdom.

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21 CHRISTIAN MARTYRS: ‘WITH THEIR BLOOD, THEY ARE UNIFYING EGYPT’

Earlier in the day, jihadists released a video of the beheading of 21 Coptic Christians. Following President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s declaration of a week of mourning, the channel switched to images of the orange-clad victims, walking to their death on the shores of Tripoli.

Late Sunday night, Feb 15, at a quiet curbside café in Cairo, customers put down their tea and backgammon. They sat riveted, watching Egypt’s president pledge retaliation against the Islamic State in Libya.

Read the story here.

NIGERIA DIVIDED OVER POSTPONED ELECTIONS The six-week postponement of presidential elections in Nigeria could achieve fairness by allowing perhaps millions of citizens displaced by Boko Haram violence to vote, Nigeria relations expert Adeniyi Ojutiku told Baptist Press. While Boko Haram has successfully overtaken areas of northeastern Nigeria, the African Union international security forces strengthened by Cameroon, Chad and Niger could overcome Boko Haram within the six-week period, said Ojutiku,

BLASPHEMY ACQUITTALS DENIED TO PAKISTANI CHRISTIANS

a Southern Baptist in Raleigh, N.C., who leads the Lift Up Now grassroots outreach to his Nigerian homeland. Read the story here.

Pakistan’s Punjab province has excluded Christians from a list of people accused of blaspheming Islam whose cases will be expedited for acquittal, according to the Morning Star News service dedicated to persecution issues. Read the story here.

C H R I S T I A N I T Y

LENGTH OF CREATION DAYS DEBATED An article by a popular evangelical blogger arguing that the six “days” of creation in Genesis were not literal 24-hour periods has prompted discussion among Christians about the earth’s age and whether orthodoxy necessarily entails believing in a young earth. Justin Taylor, senior vice president and publisher for books at Crossway, posted a blog article Jan. 28 arguing that there are “biblical reasons to doubt the creation days were 24-hour periods.” The article, which was shared on Facebook 15,000 times during its first two weeks online, also noted famous people from church history who did not believe Genesis describes six 24-hour days. Read the story here.

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HALF OF PASTORS BELIEVE FAITH WILL BECOME ONLINE-ONLY EXPERIENCE

AMERICA’S LARGEST CHRISTIAN BOOKSTORE CHAIN FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY

Forty-seven percent of Protestant pastors agree that at least some people will experience their faith exclusively through the Internet within the coming decade, according to a recent Barna survey. Is the prospect a problem? Theologically no, according to the nearly 9 out of 10 pastors (87%) who told the Barna Group it is “theologically acceptable” to seek “faith assistance” or “religious experiences” online.

Family Christian Stores (FCS) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Yet the ministry assured customers yesterday that it “does not expect” to close any of its more than 250 stores or lay off any of its approximately 4,000 employees. With 266 stores in 36 states, FCS is the nation’s largest chain of Christian stores as measured by locations, not sales. (For comparison, LifeWay Christian Resources has 185 stores in 29 states.) In 2014, FCS generated $216 million in gross revenues, notes Randall G. Reese at Chapter 11 Cases. Read the story here.

Read the story here. —Briefly section compiled from Baptist Press, other news sources and staff reports

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MORE ALA. COUNTIES OK GAY MARRIAGE

FORMER ATL. FIRE CHIEF SUES CITY, MAYOR

Following a week of tumult in Alabama concerning gay marriage, most of the state’s counties are now issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. But the chief justice of Alabama’s Supreme Court continues to argue that state judges who issue marriage licenses are not bound by the federal court ruling that declared Alabama’s gay marriage ban unconstitutional.

Americans are guaranteed the freedom to live without fear [of] being fired because of their beliefs and their thoughts,” said David Cortman, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, explaining the lawsuit ADF filed on behalf of dismissed Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran. “... In America a religious test cannot be used to fire a public servant,” Cortman said Feb. 18 in a press conference moments after the lawsuit was filed at the state capitol. The federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Atlanta and Mayor Kasim Reed is necessary “in order to protect not only [Cochran’s] Constitutional rights, but everyone else’s Constitutional rights of free speech and the free exercise of religion,” Cortman said.

Read the story here.

ABORTION SURVIVOR ADDRESSES 24TH ANNUAL ROSE DAY Hundreds of sanctity of life supporters participated in the 24th annual Rose Day at the Oklahoma state capitol, distributing roses to the governor, lieutenant governor and state senators and representatives. After giving red roses to elected officials during the morning of Feb. 4 as a symbol of their pro-life views, abortion survivor Melissa Ohden, founder of the Abortion Survivors’ Network, spoke to the capacity crowd in the house chamber and overflow audience in the state chamber. Read the story here.

S U R V E Y

1 IN 3 AMERICANS WORRY ABOUT SHARIA LAW As President Obama seeks to ramp up military action against the terrorist group known as ISIS, Americans remain uneasy over the place of Islam in the United States and in the world, a LifeWay Research survey shows.

Read the story here.

‘FIFTY SHADES’ RECORDBREAKING OPENING WEEKEND SHOULD GRIEVE CHRISTIANS, SAY LEADERS Record-breaking sales for the R-rated film Fifty Shades of Grey on its opening weekend should grieve Christians and encourage pastors to persevere in promoting God’s Word,

Southern Baptists and others told Baptist Press. The movie based on the best-selling book trilogy broke the box office record by more than 50 percent for Valentine’s Day viewings, bringing in $36.7 million in sales for the popular date night and more than $85 million over the ThursdaySunday weekend sales, according to the Box Office Mojo movie reporting service. Internationally, the R-rated movie earned $158 million, Box Office Mojo reported. John Mark Yeats, associate professor of church history at Midwestern College of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, told Baptist Press the numbers confirm “the ongoing pornification of the U.S. and the West.” “From a ministry standpoint, this should confirm the startling rise of pornography consumption amongst both men and women, if those details were in question at all,” he said. “Historically, we need to be attentive to the close parallels between our age and that of the early church. Read the story here.

TEXAS SUPREME COURT ISSUES STAY AGAINST SAME-SEX MARRIAGES The Texas Supreme Court issued an emergency order Thursday blocking gay couples from obtaining marriage licenses after a lesbian couple wed earlier in the day in Austin, but the order doesn’t invalidate the marriage of the two women. Read the story here.

More than a third (37 percent) say they are worried about Sharia law—an Islamic legal and moral code—being applied in America. One in 4 (27 percent) believe the terrorist group ISIS reflects the true nature of Islam, while 4 in 10 (43 percent) believe Islam can create a peaceful society. Read the story here.

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SBC MESSENGERS TO VOTE ON GOLDEN GATE SEMINARY NAME CHANGE, NAMB MINISTRY AMENDMENT, USE OF ELECTRONIC VOTING AT ANNUAL MEETING IN JUNE Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary will become Gateway Seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention if messengers to the next two SBC annual meetings approve a Feb. 17 recommendation of the convention’s Executive Committee. The EC also approved for recommendation to the June 16-17 SBC annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio: u a proposed amendment to the North American Mission Board’s ministry statement to include planting churches overseas in agreedupon instances with the International Mission Board u SBC bylaw amendments for the potential use of electronic voting devices in the convention hall and to establish a quorum on all SBC business matters as those present at the time of a vote. Read Golden Gate renaming and electronic voting story here. Read NAMB ministry amendment story here.

ERLC’S AGENDA INCLUDES RELIGIOUS LIBERTY, LIFE Measures to protect religious freedom and the sanctity of human life top the 2015 legislative agenda for the Southern Baptist Convention’s public policy entity. The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) unveiled Feb. 11 its goals for the new congressional session. Unlike last year, the new Congress will be controlled by one party, the Republicans. The change from a divided Congress occurred in November, when the GOP won control of the Senate.

NEW D.C. LAWS VIOLATE RELIGIOUS LIBERTY, LEADERS SAY The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission has joined other religious, pro-life and pro-family organizations in urging Congress to reject new District of Columbia laws they say violate their First Amendment rights. The ERLC and its allies, which all have offices in D.C., said the two measures are “unprecedented assaults” on their organizations. The laws “violate the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of association protected by the First Amendment and other federal law,” they said. The organizations took issue with the laws in Feb. 5 letters to the Senate and House of Representatives. They asked congressional members to rescind the measures during the period they have to review laws approved by the government of the country’s capital. Congress has 30 legislative days to disapprove the bills after the D.C. Council forwards them to the Senate and House. Read the story here.

ALA. MINISTER BACKS GAY MARRIAGE ‘ENTHUSIASTICALLY’ Following a federal court’s legalization of same-sex marriage in Alabama, a volunteer minister at a Southern Baptist church has begun performing gay weddings. Ellin Jimmerson, minister to the community at Weatherly Heights Baptist Church in Huntsville, has performed at least one same-sex wedding ceremony since gay marriage became legal, the church confirmed to Baptist Press. But Jimmerson has not performed a gay wedding at the church’s facility. Madison County, where Huntsville is located, was among the counties to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples Feb. 9. Read the story here.

Read the story here.

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Evangelism initiative challenges churches to reach 1 million homes with gospel by 2018 BY KEITH COLLIER

L O N E POPULATION OF TEXAS:

S T A R 26.5 million

NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS: LOSTNESS:

L O S T N E S S

8.9 million

68.49% (NEARLY 7 OUT OF 10 TEXANS)

APPROXIMATELY 18.1 MILLION 6 TEXANONLINE.NET FEBRUARY 24, 2015

Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Evangelism Director Nathan Lorick believes Texas churches are poised to see the most comprehensive statewide evangelism effort in the history of the Lone Star State. Through the recently launched “One in a Million” evangelism initiative Lorick hopes SBTC churches—large and small—will embrace the vision of reaching one million homes over the next three years. “The One in a Million campaign is about a strategic approach to bringing our coalition of 2,500 churches together in one sacred effort to share the gospel in one million homes,” Lorick said. To accomplish such an ambitious task, the SBTC will sponsor two-day regional trainings where pastors and local church members will learn the personal evangelism method “Can We Talk?,” which was developed by John Meador, pastor of First Baptist Church in Euless. Meador’s church has seen an explosion of people coming to faith in Christ as a result of implementing the strategy in 2014. After being trained, participants will put their newly learned evangelism strategies into action as they go out and share the gospel. They will also develop a plan to train other church members and reach their communities for Christ after they return home. Registration for the trainings will be $150 per person. Any staff member or church

R E G I O N A L u March 20-21 • Rock Hill Baptist Church, Brownsboro u April 26-27 • First Baptist Church, Euless u May 15-16 • Tabernacle Baptist Church, Ennis u Aug. 21-22 • Lakeside Baptist Church, Canton u Sept. 18-19 • First Baptist Church Odessa u Sept. 27-28 • First Baptist Church, Euless

member can attend the trainings, but the SBTC will supplement $100 for senior pastors of SBTC churches, reducing their cost to $50. Lorick believes the One in a Million strategy “has the potential to be the most effective strategic evangelism effort in the history of Texas.” Recent census data estimates nearly 9 million households in the state, yielding a population of 26.5 million or greater. Studies show that nearly 7 out of 10 Texans do not have a personal relationship with Christ, which tallies to more than 18 million people. Still, Lorick says, faithful prayer and intentional evangelism could produce an abundant spiritual harvest if workers are willing to labor in the fields. He has already seen it happening in churches across the state. “We are attempting something that is impossible without God’s favor upon it,” he said. “Imagine what Texas would look like if we joined together to charge the gates of hell with the good news of Jesus Christ. This can only be done by intentional evangelism. “However, we must have pastors willing to be trained, to train their churches and to give their people a platform to share the gospel. “I am asking our churches to seize this moment. Let us join together in one focused effort to penetrate the darkness with the gospel and see Texas changed forever.” For more information, including registration information for regional trainings, visit sbtexas.com/oneinamillion.

T R A I N I N G S u Oct. 23-24 • First Baptist Church, Euless u Nov. 20-21 • West Conroe Baptist, Conroe u Dec. 6-7 • First Baptist Church, Euless Registration: $150 per person $50 for senior pastors of SBTC churches FEBRUARY 24, 2015 TEXANONLINE.NET 7

WEST TEXAS CHURCH EXPERIENCES ‘GOSPEL REVOLUTION’

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100 PEOPLE MAKE PROFESSIONS OF FAITH OVER COURSE OF A MONTH By Tammi Ledbetter ODESSA

alling it “a sweet movement of God,” no other explanation makes sense to Byron McWilliams when asked to explain the number of people taking a stand for Christ as the invitation is being offered at First Baptist Church of Odessa.

McWilliams was in the audience in Baltimore last June to hear fellow pastor John Meador of Euless preach at the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. Meador challenged pastors to get a plan to share the gospel and lead their people to a field in their own communities where it needs to be sown. That’s when McWilliams decided to attend training in Euless to learn how to implement the evangelistic strategy “Can We Talk?” that Meador had been using in his own church to train 300 people in 24 weeks to share their faith.

“That first night I went out, and God allowed me to lead a woman by the name of Felicia to the Lord, and the next night I led Emberto,” McWilliams told the TEXAN. “I called my music ministers and said, ‘We’re fixing to do our Christmas celebration, and I’ve got our invitation.” With more than 1,000 people attending over the course of four performances, McWilliams opened each program by setting up the stories of Felicia and Roberto and then came back to share the commitments they made and give an invitation for people to respond.

3FBC Odessa Pastor Byron McWilliams baptizes Brittany Thisted during a Sunday morning worship service. Thisted’s sisters, Tiffany and Stephanie, were also baptized.

“We had 104 people saved at the Christmas celebration and that’s kind of where it started,” McWilliams said. Then, during the first weeks of January, McWilliams joined Meador in India to lead two conferences for pastors and preach throughout villages in remote areas. Both men decided to take the outline from “Can We Talk?” and share it in every preaching context. “When it was time for a response I asked them to stand,” McWilliams explained. “I watched men and women broken by their sin and the gospel stand up and come to Christ.” At times he found himself trying to talk them out of their decisions, uncertain as to whether they understood. “Three different times I said, ‘If you don’t understand, just sit down,’ but they didn’t. They refused to sit down because they knew exactly what they were doing. An interpreter told me they realized they were renouncing their Hindu gods and goddesses and turning totally to Jesus.” When Meador presented the outline at the pastors’ conference in India, he was convinced an invitation should be offered. Twenty-six of the pastors stood and 34 wives professed faith in Christ, McWilliams recalled. “They were standing in front of all their peers saying Jesus Christ is Lord of their lives. We didn’t say if you want to be saved come talk to me on the side and we’ll deal with it privately, No, if you want to be saved stand up for Jesus Christ right now. It doesn’t matter who is around you. Pride does not enter into it.” On the day after he returned from India, McWilliams shared with his congregation the images of the people he had met and told their stories of turning from idolatry to embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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“The greatest power on the face of the earth—whether you’re in Odessa, Texas, or anywhere in India—is the gospel of Jesus Christ. I don’t see revival coming unless we have a gospel revolution. Let’s not just pray about it. Let’s do it.” —BYRON MCWILLIAMS, PASTOR OF FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF ODESSA.

5FBC Odessa Pastor Byron McWilliams explains the gospel during a Sunday morning service. More than 100 people have made professions of faith during services in the past month.

He shared the same outline from “Can We Talk?” with the acronym for gospel to refer to G for God’s character revealed in his grace, mercy and justice; O for the offense of sin before God; S for the sufficiency of Christ in saving anyone; P for the need for a personal response; E for the eternal urgency; and L for life transformation. “That’s what we taught to the pastors, so I came back and preached that same thing to my church very simply,” McWilliams said. “I felt the Holy Spirit saying, ‘Give an invitation like you did in India.’” Instead of the usual pattern

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of inviting people to come and talk privately with a minister, McWilliams told those who needed Jesus in their lives to stand. One by one they rose until 51 people were standing. A week later he asked the congregation to recite each point represented in the acronym, and together they recalled all a person needs to know to present the message of the gospel. Once again, the pastor asked those who recognized their need for Jesus to stand publicly and another 20 people responded. The following Sunday another 20 stood up at the close of the service, and then nine the week after that. “It’s an incredibly simple gospel presentation that anyone can do,” McWilliams said. “It called on them to stand and they did.” McWilliams has challenged every member of the church to go through

training to practice sharing the “Can We Talk?” outline. “The staff of this church cannot win Odessa to Christ,” he told the congregation. “Why would you not want to share what is most important to God with somebody else?” he asked. More than 75 people are participating in the first training opportunity this year. Thirty of them are divided into 10 teams that follow up on visitors. The rest stay behind fervently praying for those who are sharing the gospel. “The greatest power on the face of the earth—whether you’re in Odessa, Texas, or anywhere in India—is the gospel of Jesus Christ,” McWilliams said. “I don’t see revival coming unless we have a gospel revolution. Let’s not just pray about it. Let’s do it.”

ONCE ADDICTED TO DRUGS, OIL FIELD SUPPLIER N O W S TA N D S FOR CHRIST acob Derington knows what it means to have a life transformed by the gospel. “I had always believed in God, but I never had a true relationship with him,” he told the TEXAN. After accepting an athletic scholarship to Boise State University, Derington injured his back and returned home to Odessa. Soon, he was addicted to painkillers and began abusing alcohol. “A lot of my friends ended up in prison, some died and others were using drugs, too,” Derington said. After he heard a gospel presentation and invitation at First

Baptist Church of Odessa, Derington was one of many who stood to show they wanted to receive salvation in Christ. He was determined to let God work in his life. “The only thing that got me through was gaining a relationship with God and just letting him work in my life instead of being so selfish,” Derington said. Every Sunday since making that commitment public, the 30-yearold oil field supplier has brought someone with him who needs to hear the same life-changing message. “I want to give them a chance at eternal life and a relationship with God,” he said. “I had to cut loose a lot of my socalled friends. But now I’ve found true friends and family at my church.”

“The only thing that got me through was gaining a relationship with God and just letting him work in my life instead of being so selfish.” —JACOB DERINGTON

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HOUSTON JURY VERDICT LEAVES BOTH SIDES CLAIMING VICTORY IN LGBT EQUAL RIGHTS ORDINANCE LAWSUIT By Bonnie Pritchett

n a verdict Feb. 13, a Houston jury ruled 10-2 in the lawsuit against the city and administrators for their summary dismissal of a petition brought by a coalition of pastors and civic leaders opposed to the city’s Equal Rights Ordinance. The jury found nearly 2,500 forgeries among the 54,000 voter signatures but dismissed the city’s allegations of fraud. No definitive winner was revealed by the verdict, which will not be finalized until 152nd District Court Judge Robert Schaffer issues his judgment. Schaffer was out of town and did not preside over the reading of the verdict, and plans to deliver a verdict soon. Following the verdict, lead defense attorney Geoffrey Harrison was quick to claim the verdict as a win for the defense and

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Mayor Annise Parker, who championed the ordinance as a “personal” issue. Defendants in the lawsuit are Parker, former Houston City Attorney David Feldman, City Secretary Anna Russell and the City of Houston. “If the court’s ruling follows the jury’s verdict this will be a complete and total vindication for the city,” Harrison told reporters following the verdict. “And the petition, which we declared failed back in August, will indeed be found, judicially, to have failed as well.” But Andy Taylor, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said once Schaffer—and subsequent appellate courts—apply the law and legal precedent, any still-disqualified voter signatures could be ruled valid, breathing new life into the referendum.

“We are very excited the jury vindicated us and found no fraud,” Taylor said, following Harrison’s remarks. “This jury was asked by this mayor to indict these hardworking citizens—these volunteer circulators—on the basis that they committed fraud. The jury found 13 out of 13 times no fraud was committed.” Lead attorneys indicated the case will be appealed when Schaffer’s ruling finalizes the jury’s work. The case would then go to the First or Fourteenth District Court of Appeals in Houston. Taylor said he will ask the court for an expedited process in order to get the referendum on the November ballot should his clients prevail in court. Opening arguments and testimony for Woodfill v Parker began Jan. 27 and lasted seven days, with deliberations lasting an additional five days. Juror Patsy Jenkins said the panel had a good working relationship and established criteria for answering each of the six questions with the 154 subsets. Their careful review produced a wide range of findings, which left observers unable to discern their significance at first glance. Although charged with answering questions related to fraud, forgery, circulator identity and circulator oath validation requirements, jurors were not asked to render judgment on the ramifications of the city’s actions. “We felt the people were not heard … the true and genuine were not heard,” Jenkins said. Thousands of registered Houston voters signed the petition in anticipation of a November 2014 vote on the ordinance, but their signatures were dismissed for a host or reasons

Plaintiffs’ attorney Andy Taylor brings pastors up to speed on the proceedings in the Woodfill v Parker case. Several pastors joined a faithful contingent of plaintiffs’s supporters in anticipation of a verdict.

As others make their way from the courthouse following the Woodfill v Parker verdict, pastors linger to pray. Vietnamese Baptist Church pastor Khan Huynh (center), one of the pastors subpoenaed by the city during the lawsuit’s investigation, leads in prayer. Photo by Bonnie Pritchett

including the work of some unscrupulous circulators. Jurors heard arguments over the definitions of “signature” and “subscribe” as they related to the city’s dismissal of all but 3,905 of the 54,000 signatures on a petition to repeal the Equal Rights Ordinance passed last

May, which included sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classifications. Those taking the witness stand included Feldman, Parker, pastors, church employees and petition circulators. Plaintiffs argued the city used a subjective standard for dismissing voter FEBRUARY 24, 2015 TEXANONLINE.NET 13

signatures while defense attorneys charged the petition was riddled with fraud and forgeries and, ultimately, did not comply with city code. The lawsuit’s three plaintiffs included Jared Woodfill, former chairman of the Harris County Republican Party, and F.M. Williams and Max Miller, African-American pastors and community leaders. They represented the racially and politically diverse coalition of church and civic leaders who fought for almost a year to halt the passage and implementation of the Equal Rights Ordinance. The plaintiffs’ first witness, Dave Welch, executive director of the Houston Area Pastors Council, testified for more than five hours, mostly on cross examination by Harrison, one of more than a dozen private and municipal attorney’s providing the defense. Welch testified that he drafted the referendum petition page drawing the format from an example given on a website linked to the official City of Houston website. But in doing so he eliminated what appeared to be an errant line in the form. That line, defense said, was essential to the form’s compliance with the Houston City Charter. Without it there was no place

Mayor Annise Parker takes the stand Feb. 2, called as an adverse witness by the plaintiffs. Having placed pages filled with thousands of disqualified voter signatures before the mayor, Plaintiffs’ attorney Andy Taylor questions her about the definition of “signature.” PHOTO BY BONNIE PRITCHETT

for petition circulators to sign the oath, or affidavit, at the bottom of the page. No signature; no oath; no valid petition pages, they argued. But Taylor said the online affidavit did have a place for the circulator to write their names. And since the oaths were witnessed and validated by notary publics—a representative of the State of Texas—the circulators’ signatures should be accepted as presented on the form. Initial dismissal of the voter signatures in August was based on illegibility, printing of circulator signatures versus cursive, and the identity of the circulators, among other issues. The dismissal gave petition organizers—calling themselves the No UNequal Rights Coalition—only 15,249 of the 17,269 necessary signatures to force a second vote on the ordinance by city council. The coalition sued, and the signature line became the main

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point of contention for the defense during the course of the investigation and trial. By Jan. 26, the day of jury selection, the number of valid signatures had shrunk to 3,905. The jury, with the exception of Jenkins and a second juror, ruled in the city’s favor when analyzing the petition pages of 98 circulators. They blamed Welch, who created the form, for not checking other resources to ensure the accuracy of the document. But they also faulted the city for its publication of a petition form that lacked a definitive signature line. Throughout the trial Taylor claimed Parker and Feldman (who resigned in December) spent more time and resources trying to disqualify voter signatures than seeking signature confirmation. African-American plaintiffs and their supporters, many of whom worked in the civil rights movement, claimed the situation seemed all too familiar. The rights of the voters had been quashed.

But Harrison repeatedly said the issue was about the rule of law and compliance with the Houston City Charter. “Thousands of signatures on this petition are not just highly suspect but clearly not genuine and show evidence of forgery and fraud,” Harrison said. Parker, whom the plaintiffs’ attorney called as an “adverse witness.” concurred and challenged Taylor’s analysis of the signatures. “There are lots of different ways to analyze the petition,” Parker said from the stand Feb. 2. But, she continued, “it doesn’t matter if you miss [the goal] by 2,000 signatures or two. The law is the law.” “But if someone doesn’t get counted,” Taylor countered,”it might matter to them—a lot.” When plaintiffs rested their case later that day, the defense called former city attorney Feldman as their first witness. He told the jury he did not initially press the issue of the petition format that would eventually nullify the vast majority of voter signatures because the

referendum had failed. It wasn’t until the lawsuit was filed that city attorneys began scrutinizing the affidavit portion of the form with its missing signature line. “[The referendum process] was designed to keep people from signing as someone they weren’t,” Feldman said in defending his actions. Seeking to illustrate their allegations of forgery and fraud the defense called a handwriting expert, Janet Masson, to cull through the petition pages. Her review revealed about 2,355 “irregularities” throughout the 5,199 pages of signatures. The jury counted those “irregularities” among the forgeries. But Taylor said the city’s validation standard was inconsistent throughout the investigation and, therefore, unjust. He held the defense to the city’s December analysis of signatures documented as a “final” count. According to that analysis there were 15,972 valid signatures, just 1,297 shy of the requisite number for the referendum.

“These aren’t signatures. These are people trying to validate their right to petition the government.” —ATTORNEY ANDY TAYLOR

But the defense consistently argued the “final” count had a footnote stating more pages could be invalidated. Taylor accused the city of moving the goals, making compliance with the rules impossible. He told jurors they were the plaintiffs’ only recourse in the fight against city hall. He illustrated the point during closing arguments by tossing file after file of the thousands of invalidated signature pages onto the floor. With each bundle of pages, Taylor said, “You don’t count. You don’t count. They don’t count.” “These aren’t signatures,” he told the jurors. “These are people trying to validate their right to petition the government.”

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BY SHARAYAH COLTER

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A Criswell College mission team saw 840 people living in East African slums accept Christ as savior early this year when they traveled to Kenya to plant churches, encourage national pastors and share the gospel door to door, Dec. 29 Jan. 9. The group of eight students led by Bobby Worthington, associate professor of missions and evangelism, and Kevin Warstler, associate professor of Hebrew and Old Testament, ministered in both the Kabira and Kangemi slums on the outskirts of Nairobi, where hundreds of thousands of people dwell in tightly packed and poverty-ridden villages. The team, together with national pastors and local leadership, launched one new church plant in Kabira and one in Kangemi. The local pastors are now following up and visiting with those who made public professions of faith. Worthington, who hopes to return with another team later in the year, described the trip and the spiritual harvest as “incredible.” “The students weren’t expecting to see that big of a response,” Worthington said. “It was really encouraging because … people were saved the first day. There was an openness there.”

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Worthington explained the “openness,” saying that while door-to-door evangelism may have declined in America with many residents unwilling to hear the gospel on their front porches, the Kenyans listen eagerly to what Americans have come to say. As they talk, Worthington said, the groups grow with others stopping in to listen and to ask questions. During the trip, Worthington had the opportunity to share with the chief of the Kangemi slum. “I got to tell him my story of how I came to Christ and how I surrendered to the ministry and preaching the gospel and how Christ has transformed my life,” Worthington said. The chief listened and paid special attention to Worthington saying that Christ could make him a “new chief, a better chief.” The chief said he would need to seriously consider what the professor was saying. Meanwhile, 18 TEXANONLINE.NET FEBRUARY 24, 2015

the chief’s assistant had been listening in to the conversation. When Worthington left, he followed him outside and asked to talk more about Jesus. “He accepted Christ right outside of the chief’s door,” Worthington said. In addition to sharing the gospel in the streets and alleyways of the slums and even at the public sewer trenches, the group conducted a pastors’ college for 33 national pastors and leaders. The two professors and student Richmond Goolsby taught the leaders in biblical exposition, preaching, survey of the Pentateuch and evangelism. Goolsby, who will graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Criswell this spring, served as an integral connection between the Texas team and the Kenyan people because of his ministry, Gateway East Africa, which helped facilitate the trip and fund the pastors’ attendance in the college.

“Criswell College has a heart for missions, and that can be seen in short-term mission trips like this.” —BOBBY WORTHINGTON

Goolsby also serves as the director of missions for the North Texas Baptist Association. Worthington said the trip revealed a “harvest field’ in Africa where he prays and plans to return to continue sharing about Christ. The people there, he said, are open and ready to listen. Criswell students and faculty are ready to go. “Criswell College has a heart for missions, and that can be seen in short-term mission trips like this, and it can result in career missionaries, because we’ve seen it in the past with students who have gone on these trips and who are now on the field,” Worthington said.

Obamacare causes Longview church to close day care

By Erin Roach LONGVIEW

A Longview church is closing the day care center it has operated for more than 30 years in response to requirements imposed by the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act (also known as “Obamacare”). Mobberly Baptist Church said in a statement on its website, Feb. 12, that closing the day care “comes with much sorrow” and follows months of Mobberly staff “praying, researching and discussing the issue.” Under the health care law, employers that meet a certain employee count threshold must provide full-time workers with comprehensive health insurance. Although the number of full-time Mobberly Child Development Center workers falls below the threshold, the day care is part of the

church and the federal government includes church staff and day care workers when accounting for the total number of employees. So the day care, which serves newborns through age 5, will close March 13. Church leaders spent considerable time praying and evaluating options. In order to comply with the new regulations and keep the day care open, leaders determined there were four main options. The Child Development Center could increase tuition to cover the cost of additional insurance, but they realized the increase would mean most of the families that currently send children to the center would no longer be able to afford the service. Also, Mobblery’s day care would not remain comparably priced to local day care centers that do not exceed the ACA threshold. Another option was to separate the Child Development Center from the church as its own corporation in order to reduce the total number of employees. The church consulted two nonprofit attorneys, according to the statement, who advised against that option for several reasons, including a loss of property tax exemption, loss of control and the possibility of the Internal Revenue Service ignoring the restructuring. A third option, the church said, was to reduce the number of teachers and classrooms at the day care, but teacher/student ratios are subject to state regulations, and “the past historical quality of the CDC was built around the teacher/student ratios used.” The fourth option cited by leaders was to reduce the number of full-time Child Development Center teachers. “Utilizing primarily part-time teachers has been tried by CDC leadership in the past and has led to instability and higher staff turnover,” Mobberly’s statement said. “We are aware of one other large day care operation that attempted to utilize only part-time teachers recently, and they have now changed their philosophy and hired multiple full-time teachers.” Gregg Zackary, Mobberly’s senior associate pastor, told the TEXAN the Child Development Center operates under its own budget and its own leadership. FEBRUARY 24, 2015 TEXANONLINE.NET 19

“The church does have a Child Development Center committee that oversees it in terms of big picture, and because of that link we do have some control,” Zackary said. “But it has its own director; it pays its own salaries; it pays most of its expenses.” Workers at the center care for about 120 full-time students and about 40 after-school students. The church provides space for the day care and does not charge for utilities or cleaning, Zackary said, “But in terms of their supplies and their workers and any insurance, it operates on its own budget.” Zackary said his survey of other day care centers in Longview led him to believe Mobberly is not unique to not provide health insurance for employees. However,

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those centers are not affected because they do not exceed the total employee threshold. The decision to close the day care has caused displeasure among parents who have placed children there. “They’ve expressed their sadness because their kids got excellent care,” Zackary said, “and they’re disappointed that the Child Development Center has to close.” Most families already have been able to find alternative care for their children, Zackary said. The closure also has affected the center’s workers, including some who have served there for 20 years or more. “We’re very saddened that they’re impacted,” Zackary said. “We have been able to work

through the Child Development Center’s budget to provide severance for those workers based on their tenure and their pay rate to help ease the transition for them as they look for new jobs.” Many of the workers already have been hired at other centers, Zackary said. Though Mobberly Baptist is losing its influence on countless young lives, Zackary said the main mission of the church—to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ—has not changed. “This doesn’t impede us from continuing to fulfill our mission in many different ways,” he said. “Our goal is to continue the mission the Lord has given his church.”

Nathan Lino

Parenting through the Libyan Massacre

3. I told our four children what happened. I did not give them more than they are ready for. They are already well aware of ISIS, as we have discussed the group many times. I told our kids that 21 members of ISIS marched 21 of our brothers onto a beach and beheaded them simply for being Christians. Then, I used an iPad to show them two images: the one of our brothers in orange jumpsuits being marched onto the beach by Muslims dressed in black and the one of our brothers kneeling down in front of their executioners while the one man in camo addressed the camera. 4. Here are the talking points we are working through with them (not all in one sitting): The Lord told us it would be this way, so do not panic (Matthew 10:16-25).

he pictures have gone viral; 21 brothers in Christ with hands tied behind their backs, marched onto a beach by 21 members of the Islamic State, made to kneel down before their executioners, who at some point shoved the martyrs onto the sand chest down, knelt on their backs, pulled back their heads with one hand and cut off their heads with the other. The waves of the Mediterranean Sea lapped up on the sand, collecting the blood of the martyrs. This is reality in the world in which our children are growing up. How should Christian parents disciple their children in light of this? I can share with you what my wife, Nicole, and I are doing. 1. Parents need wisdom from the Holy Spirit to discern how to talk to their children about these matters. Not all children are in the same place in their readiness to discuss these things. A wise parent does not give their children more than they are ready for. If you have not already been bringing your children along in reality and you have been shielding them from knowing of the evil in the world, this might not be the current event with which to begin. Before you read further, you should know that we talk regularly with our children about evil in this world; we did not begin with this particular current event. 2. We discussed this over supper with our four children together. In the culture of our home, supper is the setting for meaningful family discussion.

The Lord told us not to fear those who can kill the body but not the soul (Matthew 10:26-33). These brothers are martyrs of the faith, and Daddy and Mommy admire them so much: they refused to be disloyal to Christ in order to save their own lives. They loved Christ more than their own lives (Luke 14:26). They are heroes (Hebrews 11:38, Revelation 6:9-11). Daddy and mommy pray ISIS is brought to justice for these ongoing murders (Romans 13:1-7). Daddy and mommy do not hate the members of ISIS, or we are hypocrites. Instead, we pray for the members of ISIS to become Christians and be in heaven with all of us one day (Matthew 5:43-48). You see, daddy and mommy are redeemed by Christ for committing mass murder and are still learning by the grace of God to stop being serial killers (Matthew 5:21-22). What happened in Libya is what happened to Stephen in Acts 6:8–7:60. ISIS is stoning and beheading Christians; Stephen was stoned for being a Christian. Most of the disciples were martyred for the faith. The greatest martyr was Christ himself. Our Lord was crucified for the Christian faith. If that is what happened to him, what should we expect will happen to us if we follow him and his teaching? (Matthew 10:24-25). It is very important that Christian parents in luxurious American safety raise our children with an understanding of the reality of the world. It is an extreme luxury that my small children have never heard a bomb explode, seen or heard a real gunfight, or seen a house in our neighborhood burned down as an act of vengeance. In many countries around the world, my 10-year-old son would already have to be an expert rifleman in order to protect our family and home. It is unhealthy and in my opinion a detriment to the development of my children to grow up oblivious to the reality of the world. My children are in the next generation of the church responsible for reaching this world with the gospel. They need to understand the world they are charged to reach. We as parents only have 18-20 years to train them to think like Christ; that is, to train them to have the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5). —Nathan Lino is the pastor of Northeast Houston Baptist Church. FEBRUARY 24, 2015 TEXANONLINE.NET 21

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