January 27, 2015 • ISSUE 42
e t a t s r a Lone St the nation f o ion s s e s y e e s s e ativ draw l s i g s e g l n i r w e a e n rt h u with o c y r ua n a J d n a DALLAS MARCH FOR LIFE RETURNS TO BIRTHPLACE OF ROE V. WADE
FILM EXPLORES EROSION OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Gary Ledbetter
In Defense of Satire The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. John 10:11-13
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hose who heard Jesus say this knew who Jesus was calling hirelings. The “hirelings,” long accustomed to deference, knew that this demeaning image of the cowardly hired hand was aimed at them. Their cheeks reddened, and their respect among the people diminished. This is often the intent of satire, to embarrass the puffed up or hypocritical and to change their behavior. Political cartoons have a long history of shooting darts of disapproval at prominent people. Sharp-tongued satirists like Jonathan Swift and Mark Twain used stories and quips to lampoon what they considered to be the failures of powerful people. Swift was exiled for it, but in America Twain became a populist favorite for his pointed wit. I believe satire can be used to make a graphic point that would have less power if reduced to talking points. The freedom of Americans to take shots at their opponents, fair or unfair, is an outgrowth of freedom. That means that poor stewards of this freedom, Michael Moore and Bill Mahr come to mind, must be granted the same rights as those I prefer. Even our most enlightened allies seem to prize and defend freedom of speech and belief to a lesser degree than American law demands. We have all winced at some of the nasty things called free speech by an increasingly naughty American culture. We can also imagine the consequences of censoring these bad actors. Today it’s them; later it’s us. But, our response should be appropriate to the content of the speech. Imagine dining in a formal setting. There are people at the table you’d like to impress and perhaps one or two that you hope not to embarrass. Across from you is your Arkansas cousin who doesn’t always do as well as he knows to do. To be cute he picks up his half-empty soup bowl and slurps it down. Do you laugh and join him or ignore
American Christians have a great stake in freedom of conscience and speech. him and hope he gets the hint? Given that you are a serious person with some shred of dignity, you’re only good option is to ignore the clown and perhaps give him a surreptitious stink eye. His behavior should not be punished, but it should not be celebrated either. Cousin Eddy can slurp his soup, but he is likely to be excluded in the future from the most polite company. Both things are adequate expressions of freedom. Freedom of speech and conscience should also be protected from its worst practitioners. This was the quandary some of us faced when an evil dictator none of us wished well was accused of trying to censor an American movie that few of us wished well. Our unease grew when Muslim terrorists killed the staff of a “satirical” newspaper in Paris. Both events had criminal actors and legally innocent victims. But some crude efforts to affirm freedom of speech in both cases were the equivalent of both laughing at and joining Cousin Eddy’s soup slurping. Some said we should all buy a ticket to see The Interview, the movie that probably prompted hackers to damage Sony Pictures to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. We should buy a ticket, some said, even if we don’t care to see what is likely a stupid and vulgar movie. Even more insistent were the calls for American newspapers to publish the offensive (to Muslims) cartoons of Charlie Hebdo. The New York Times was called cowardly for not printing the cartoons. The terrorists win, I suppose, if we don’t celebrate the particular expressions of freedom that typified that magazine. I’ve seem previews to The Interview, and I’ve seen some of the cartoons of Charlie Hebdo. Neither were examples of high art or satire. The cartoons were blasphemous and crude and empty of satirical throw weight—the equivalent of a 12-year-old boy reciting profanity to offend his grandmother. Both are protected speech in our nation and I suppose should be, but celebrating that freedom does not call for celebrating the particulars of those examples. American Christians have a great stake in freedom of conscience and speech. It means that we must grant that freedom to those who do things they shouldn’t do. But our antipathy toward those who would even violently curtail freedom shouldn’t tempt us to praise or exalt that which is unworthy of the freedom that allows it.
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Lone Star state draws eyes of the nation with new legislative session and January court hearings
ALL EYES UPON TEXAS
The eyes of the nation turn toward the Lone Star state in 2015 as culturedefining decisions are made in the halls of the Texas legislature and in courtrooms at the state and national levels. While bills are argued in the Texas House and Senate chambers related to firearms, religious freedom, marriage, education, sexual orientation discrimination, and abortion, the judicial system will issue verdicts related to the equal rights ordinances, state marriage laws and abortion clinic regulations. Many believe these decisions will produce ripples felt throughout the country.
WHO’S MINDING THE HOUSE? 84th session’s leadership could determine fate of legislation As Texas lawmakers were sworn in Jan. 13 for the 84th session of the Texas Legislature, almost 1,000 bills already awaited their consideration. But controlling the bills’ flow through the House of Representatives was the subject of the first vote taken in that chamber where critics contend, despite a Republican majority, passage of conservative legislation is not guaranteed.
TEXAS, LA., MISS. MARRIAGE LAW CASES PRESENTED TO COURT OF APPEALS The U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit heard challenges to marriage laws in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, Jan. 9. The similarity between the contested laws—defining marriage as a union only between a man and a woman and the prohibition against recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states—led the appellate court to hear the cases together.
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TEXAN Digital 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 Stephanie Barksdale, Subscriptions
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COURT OF APPEALS HEARS ARGUMENTS ON TEXAS ABORTION REGULATIONS BILL In what could be a precedentsetting case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit heard arguments in Whole Woman’s Health vs. Lakey, Jan. 7, part of the ongoing legal challenges contesting the 2013 Texas abortion regulations law, which observers agree is headed to the U.S. Supreme Court later this year.
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SBTC DR teams aid Oak Cliff church destroyed by fire Southern Baptists of Texas Convention disaster relief volunteers deployed Jan. 14 to clear rubble and debris left after a fire destroyed Deliverance Missionary Baptist Church in east Oak Cliff. The DR team came in after city crews had torn down what remained of the charred building after the blaze was extinguished.
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CHURCHES TORCHED, PEOPLE KILLED IN VIOLENT ATTACKS STEMMING FROM CARTOONING OF MUHAMMAD At least 45 churches have been burned and 10 people killed in Niger where Muslims continue to express their anger over their prophet Muhammad being the subject of cartoonists’ drawings. As more cartoons are published following the Charlie Hebdo cartoons that sparked tragedy in Paris, violence continues to erupt, especially in majorlyMuslim regions. Read the story here.
‘LIKE INSECTS,’ 2,000 NIGERIANS KILLED Boko Haram’s slaughter of 2,000 northeastern Nigerians shows the jihadists have escalated beyond targeting Christians and has placed Nigeria in the midst of a global war against humanity, Nigerian relations expert Adeniyi Ojutiku told Baptist Press Jan. 12. Hundreds of gunmen invaded Baga and 16 surrounding villages in Borno state beginning Jan. 3, and continued to slaughter residents and burn homes throughout the following week, killing an estimated 2,000 residents. Amnesty International described the attack as Boko Haram’s deadliest to date.
1,000 LASHES BEGIN FOR SAUDI BLOGGER The first 50 of 1,000 lashes were meted out to a Saudi blogger in front of a mosque Jan. 9 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, according to news reports and human rights organizations. The blogger, Raif Badawi, is “the victim of a cruel and barbaric act carried out by the Saudi justice system,” the chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Katrina LantosSwett, said in a news release the same day. Badawi is sentenced to receive 50 lashes weekly after Friday prayers for the next 20 weeks at the Juffali Mosque in Jeddah. Read the story here.
AS EBOLA FEARS PERSIST, CHURCHES KEEP REACHING W. AFRICA Ebola has struck fear in many Americans considering mission trips to the continent of Africa within the last few months. Many churches are cancelling trips, even to countries not affected by the disease, Southern Baptist mission workers report. Only a few congregations continue to push forward with sharing the gospel there. Read the story here.
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Short-term missionaries share the gospel in West Africa despite Ebola fears. They faced many challenges but believed God would take care of them. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE
CAMP OF FAITH CHURCH.
Read the story here.
SUPREME COURT TO RULE ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
CHRISTIAN FLORIST’S PERSONAL ASSETS AT STAKE AFTER JUDGE SAYS DECLINING SERVICE FOR SAME-SEX WEDDING VIOLATES STATE LAW
The U.S. Supreme Court will not wait any longer to rule on samesex marriage. The high court announced Jan. 16) that it would review an appals court decision on the issue. The announcement came after a private conference among the justices the same day. The court will hear oral arguments in March or April and likely issue an opinion before it adjourns this summer.
A Washington state judge has decided a flower shop owner may be personally sued for declining to provide flowers for a homosexual wedding because of her relationship with Jesus. Benton County Superior Court Judge Alex Ekstrom ruled last week that a consumer protection lawsuit may be filed against Barronelle Stutzman, owner of the Richland, Wash., shop.
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ATLANTA FIRE CHIEF FIRED OVER PRO-FAMILY BOOK Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran has been terminated following a city investigation into a book he wrote that calls homosexual behavior immoral and upholds a biblical view of sexuality. Read the story here.
—Briefly section compiled from Baptist Press, other news sources and staff reports
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PORN ‘DAMAGES & DEGRADES’ RELATIONSHIPS A new study concluding that pornography use leads to decreased enjoyment of sexual intimacy for men illustrates “the detrimental effect” obscene images have on “a male’s sexual health,” a leader of Southern Baptists’ anti-pornography campaign told Baptist Press. Read the story here.
NEWSWEEK’S SLAM OF THE BIBLE ‘IRRESPONSIBLE’ A Newsweek cover article calling conservative evangelicals “God’s frauds” and characterizing the Bible as full of errors has drawn a range of corrective responses from Baptist commentators. “When Newsweek, now back in print under new ownership, let loose its first issue of the New Year on the Bible, I held out the hope that the article would be fair, journalistically credible, and interesting, even if written from a more liberal perspective,” R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote in a Dec. 29 blog post. “But Newsweek’s cover story is nothing of the sort. It is an irresponsible screed of postChristian invective leveled against the Bible and, even more to the point, against evangelical Christianity. It is one of the most irresponsible articles ever to appear in a journalistic guise.” Read the story here.
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MOST CHURCHGOERS WON’T SKIP CHURCH FOR FOOTBALL Most American churchgoers would rather attend church than watch their favorite football team, a LifeWay Research study shows. But a few die-hard fans are willing to miss out on worship to watch a game. About 1 in 7 churchgoers (15 percent) say they’d skip church in order to watch their favorite football team, according to a survey of 994 churchgoers. Read the story here.
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‘UNBROKEN’ MISSES STORY
“Unbroken,” which opened Christmas Day, details the early life of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who was taken as a prisoner of war by Japanese forces during World War II after being stranded at sea for 47 days. Leaning on his faith, the POW was able to endure and eventually forgive the evil thrust upon him. Alas, this healing process and ability to forgive is only given in a couple of lines at the very end of the production. “After years of severe post-traumatic stress, Louis made good on his promise
PRO-GAY BOOK ‘UNDEVELOPED’ & ‘UNCONVINCING’ A former Union University faculty member’s new book arguing that churches should endorse homosexual marriage is “undeveloped and unconvincing,” Union’s George Guthrie wrote in a review published by The Gospel Coalition. Guthrie, Benjamin W. Perry Professor of Bible at Union, reviewed David Gushee’s book “Changing Our Mind” in which Gushee, distinguished
to serve God, a decision he credited with saving his life. Motivated by his faith, Louis came to see that the way forward was not revenge, but forgiveness.” One leaves the theater suspecting the filmmakers missed the real story. Zamperini’s conversion and healing process are given virtually no screen time, but comprise the true story that needs to be told. Salvation and healing are Zamperini’s legacy, showing how a soul can find healing and peace. Read the story here.
TEXAS SENATE APPROVES BILL TO HALT DRUG USERS’ RECEIPT OF WELFARE MONEY
university professor of Christian ethics at Mercer University, recounts his shift on sexual ethics and argues that the church should sanction monogamous, “covenanted” homosexual relationships. Gushee left Union in 2007. Read the story here.
The Texas Senate has passed a bill to cut off welfare assistance to drug users, temporarily, and permanently after three failed drug tests. The bill now goes on to the House of Representatives to be considered there. Read the story here.
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MO. CONVENTION RECEIVES $5M PARTIAL SETTLEMENT The Missouri Baptist Convention has received a $5 million partial settlement in its legal efforts to restore the Missouri Baptist Foundation as an entity accountable to the convention. The foundation was one of five subsidiary corporations which broke from the convention in 2000-01, changing their charters to create self-perpetuating trustee boards. The MBC Executive Board approved a $5 million payment from Church Mutual Insurance Company in an executive session during its Dec. 8-9 meeting in Jefferson City. The settlement with Church Mutual, to be applied toward financial losses and attorney’s fees accrued by the convention, represents the policy limits of $5 million in insurance carried by the Missouri Baptist Foundation. Read the story here.
JAMES EPTING TO RETIRE FROM NORTH GREENVILLE North Greenville University’s board of trustees has announced that NGU President James B. Epting is taking sabbatical leave for the 2015 spring semester, with plans to retire at the end of the school’s fiscal year in May. He had served the school for 23 years.
HUCKABEE ENDS TV SHOW, WEIGHING PRESIDENTIAL BID Former Arkansas governor and Baptist pastor Mike Huckabee ended his Fox News TV show Jan. 3 in view of a possible run for the White House in 2016. Huckabee finished
second in 2008 to Sen. John McCain for the Republican nomination to face then-Sen. Barack Obama. He is a former pastor of Southern Baptist churches in Pine Bluff and Texarkana, Ark., and a former president of the
Arkansas Baptist State Convention; a graduate of Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia; and a former student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Texas. Read the story here.
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COOPERATIVE PROGRAM DRAWS PASTORS’ CONFIDENCE Southern Baptist pastors are strongly supportive of the Cooperative Program, according to a study commissioned by the SBC Executive Committee and published in its winter 2014/2015 edition of SBC LIFE. The survey shows a continuing increase in confidence among pastors that the Cooperative Program supports ministries and missions valued by their churches—moving up to 81 percent from 73 percent in a 2012 survey that asked the same questions of
pastors and 71 percent in a 2008 survey that included pastors, laypersons and other church staff. Read the story here.
Read the story here.
CP 3.11 PERCENT AHEAD OF 2013 PACE Year-to-date contributions through the Southern Baptist Convention’s portion of the Cooperative Program are 3.11 percent ahead of the same time frame at the end of 2013 and 3.84 percent under the SBC Cooperative Program Allocation Budget projection for the year according to a news release from SBC Executive Committee President Frank S. Page. Read the story here.
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CANER STEPS DOWN AS BREWTON-PARKER PRESIDENT
COURT UPHOLDS INMATE’S RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Six months after his 15-year-old son committed suicide, Brewton-Parker’s 16th president told the board of trustees, Jan. 20, he needs to resign and return to Texas so that he can heal with his family. The board issued a resolution of gratitude and support for Caner who led the school to be reaffirmed by its accrediting agency and to be removed from probation.
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously delivered a victory for the religious liberty of prison inmates Jan. 20. The justices ruled the Arkansas Department of Corrections violated the religious free exercise of a Muslim prisoner by prohibiting him from growing a beard in order to practice his beliefs.
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SANTORUM, JEFFRESS SPEAK AT RELIGIOUS LIBERTY FILM EVENT IN DALLAS By Joshua Owens Hundreds gathered at First Baptist Church of Dallas, Jan. 14, for a packed showing of One Generation Away, a feature film released by former senator Rick Santorum’s production company, EchoLight Cinemas. FBC Dallas hosted the showing of the recently released religious liberty film at its “A Night with Dr. Jeffress & Rick Santorum” event and concluded the evening with a Q&A session with Jeffress, pastor of FBC Dallas, and Santorum, who serves as CEO of EchoLight. “[Religious liberty] is a current issue,” Santorum said. “The best ammunition to fight back is a knowledgeable public.” “We wanted … to get this film out into as many churches as possible. We need to wake up the church on this issue.” The movie depicts the growing struggle for religious liberty across the nation, drawing specific attention to the Mount Soledad Veterans Memorial cross and the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby case, among others. Interviews with defendants in legal cases like these put faces to the fight for religious liberty in the neighborhoods and businesses that make up America. Yet challenges to religious liberty do not stop at American borders—a point the Dove Awardwinning film does not miss. Serious threats to religious liberty in North Korea, Syria, Nigeria and
Sweden all gain screen time in the film. The film also includes interviews with several prominent evangelicals. Eric Metaxas, author of Bonhoeffer, parallels Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s decision to stand against the rise of Nazi Germany to the choice Americans face amid growing threats to religious liberty. Metaxas explains that German Christians in the 1930s did not realize the urgency of their situation until it was too late. American Christians, he says, must take action now. Gregory Thornbury, president of The King’s College, echoes these sentiments, noting that America historically follows the path of Europe. One Generation Away prescribes steps of action, the first being to live out one’s faith in every sphere of life, a point addressed by Eric Teetsel, executive director of The Manhattan Declaration. He notes the dichotomy between freedom of religion versus freedom of worship, showing that freedom of worship permits one to worship for an hour on Sunday morning but not to live out that worship in the public square. “What they’re trying to do is constrain the space for religion to the four walls of a church on a Sunday morning,” Teetsel says. Many of those interviewed in the movie and the real life battles it depicts are Baptists, including Russell D. Moore, Voddie Baucham, Mike Huckabee, Steve
Green, Gregory Thornbury, Robert Jeffress and Jack Graham. The cause they champion, however, extends beyond denominational boundaries, reaching others even outside of Christianity for whom the religious liberty battle is also of utmost importance. “We need to do a better job as Christians in standing up for the religious liberty of everyone,” Moore says. “Religious liberty is only religious liberty inasmuch as it protects the liberty to the free exercise of all religions. Thus the nature of the fight is to protect the conscience, however seared it may be.” After the film, Jeffress and Santorum entertained a brief Q&A session. A few questions touched on a potential Santorum bid for the U.S. presidency in the 2016 election. Santorum deflected the particulars of any potential campaign but did note that the next president should use the office to model religious liberty. “[The president] has the ability to model what is good, what is true, what is healthy,” Santorum said. However, he cautioned, a bold stand for religious liberty would not be easy, adding, “If you stand up for the truth, they’re going to hate you. They hated [Jesus]. Of course they’re going to hate you.” Churches interested in featuring the film can visit onegenerationawaymovie.com. JANUARY 27 2015 TEXANONLINE.NET 5
84TH SESSION’S LEADERSHIP COULD DETERMINE FATE OF LEGISLATION
ALL EYES UPON TEXAS BY BONNIE PRITCHETT
THE EYES OF THE
NATION TURN TOWARD THE LONE STAR STATE IN 2015 AS CULTURE-DEFINING DECISIONS ARE MADE IN THE HALLS OF THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE AND IN COURTROOMS AT THE STATE AND NATIONAL LEVELS. WHILE BILLS ARE ARGUED IN THE TEXAS HOUSE AND SENATE CHAMBERS RELATED TO FIREARMS, RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, MARRIAGE, EDUCATION, SEXUAL ORIENTATION DISCRIMINATION, AND ABORTION, THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM WILL ISSUE VERDICTS RELATED TO THE EQUAL RIGHTS ORDINANCES, STATE MARRIAGE LAWS AND ABORTION CLINIC REGULATIONS. MANY BELIEVE THESE DECISIONS WILL PRODUCE RIPPLES FELT THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.
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WHO’S MINDING THE HOUSE? AS
Texas lawmakers were sworn in Jan. 13 for the 84th session of the Texas Legislature, almost 1,000 bills already awaited their consideration. But controlling the bills’ flow through the House of Representatives was the subject of the first vote taken in that chamber where critics contend, despite a Republican majority, passage of conservative legislation is not guaranteed. Leadership in the Senate fell to newly elected Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a conservative lawmaker from Houston who ousted 12-year incumbent David Dewhurst, RHouston. However, the re-election of Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, as speaker of the house to a third term could stymie key legislation. Conservative legislators and advocacy groups criticized Straus as a moderate who gave little to no deference to conservative legislation last session despite Republican control of the chamber. The 2013 legislative session,
which ended with a rancorous protest, is still an open wound for many Democrat lawmakers and their allies. And its signature legislation—pro-life House Bill 2—is under review by the U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit as is the 2005 marriage amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Bills shoring up and challenging those laws are already in the queue. In the first challenge to the speakership in 40 years, sophomore Rep. Scott Turner, a Republican and African-American from Frisco, failed to unseat Straus in a recorded vote, 127-19. The landslide vote was a foregone conclusion prior to the opening session, but legislators wanted their support for Turner on record, said Scott Sanford, R-McKinney. Sanford, executive pastor of stewardship and operations at Cotton Creek Baptist Church in Allen, is one of several Christian legislators, including Turner, with Southern Baptist roots.
84 TH TEXAS LEGISLATURE K E Y DAT E S
January 13, 2015: First day of regular session March 13, 2015: Deadline for filing most bills June 1, 2015: Last day of regular session KEY LEADERS
Governor: Greg Abbott Lt. Governor: Dan Patrick Speaker of the House: Joe Straus Attorney General: Ken Paxton
“I’m supporting Scott,” Sanford told the TEXAN in early December. “If the Democrats have a fortress of hope, it will be in the current speaker. So he is beholden, in some respect, to them.” Because the speaker of the house appoints committee chairmanships, an unspoken quid pro quo ensured Straus’s re-election, said Ann Hettinger, a member of First Baptist Church in Dallas and Texas director of Concerned Women of America. A voice vote for speaker is common practice JANUARY 27 2015 TEXANONLINE.NET 7
84 TH TEXAS LEGISLATURE H O USE OF R EPRE SE NTATIVE S (Must be U.S. citizen, 21years old, Texas resident for 2 years. Serve 2-year terms)
148 MEMBERS Male: 120 Female: 28 Democrat: 51 Republican: 97 Incumbent: 123 Freshman: 24 S ENATE
(Must be U.S. citizen, 26 years old, Texas resident for 5 years. Serve 4-year terms)
31 MEMBERS Male: 23 Female: 8 Democrat: 11 Republican: 20 Incumbent: 23 Freshman: 8
providing a modicum of anonymity for legislators, but each member of the Texas House of Representatives went on record with their vote Tuesday. Although some legislators feared political repercussions for voting for Turner, Hettinger and Sanford welcomed the recorded vote as it holds representatives accountable to their constituencies in a way a voice vote cannot. And that matters to legislative watchers as a renewed Straus speakership could, again, be an obstacle for conservative legislation awaiting committee assignment, Hettinger said. By the first of December, Hettinger had already examinee approximately 350 bills filed in the House and Senate since the Nov. 10 opening date. That number represents just a fraction of the anticipated 7,000 bills that will be filed for the session. Most bills filed before the first gavel of a legislative session do not make it to committee for consideration much less to the floor 8 TEXANONLINE.NET JANUARY 27, 2015
for a vote. Sanford said many represent form over substance, communicating to the sponsors’ constituency their intentions for the sessions. Of the bills already filed, several address firearm licensure and possession. Others continue the debates over abortion, samesex marriage, education and religious liberty. House Bill 195, by Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, seeks to end handgun concealed carry licensure and the prohibition against the public display of firearms. HB 198 would allow school board members and district superintendents to possess handguns during board meetings, while HB 216 lowers the age for concealed carry licensure from 21 to 18 years of age. Hettinger believes the bills are a reaction to a perceived threat from the Obama administration to Second Amendment guarantees. CWA Texas has not taken a position on the bills. Having passed omnibus pro-life legislation in the last session— sparking contentious protests and the failed gubernatorial campaign of Wendy Davis—the only pro-life bill filed as of Jan. 1, HB 170, called for the prohibition of sex-selective abortion. Hettinger doubted Straus would send it to a committee for consideration, noting pro-life advocates were at loggerheads with Straus during the 83rd legislative session. Also facing an uphill battle is the resurrection of Senate Joint Resolution 10 authored by Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels. An attempt to shore up the existing Religious Freedom statute, the same measure
was filed and rejected last session. SJR 10, if passed, would allow Texans to vote on a state version of the federal Religious Freedom and Restoration Act (RFRA), which the U.S. Congress passed in 1993 with overwhelming bipartisan support. SJR 10 could also provide legal protection for those whose faith runs afoul of local ordinances as in Houston where local pastors are fighting to repeal a city ordinance they argue forces business owners to violate their religious conscience and allows transgender individuals to use the public restrooms of the gender with which they identify. The state’s current Religious Freedom statute is not binding in court, where local and state laws across the country are being challenged by religious liberty advocates. The RFRA law bolsters the argument for free exercise of religion in the face of legal challenges, especially by homosexual rights advocates. Some states with their own (RFRA) laws have successfully defended their states’ marriage laws against legal challenges by LGBT advocates. The Texas marriage law and statute prohibiting the recognition of same-sex marriages performed in other states is under review by the U.S. Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit and does not have RFRA protection. The Texas marriage amendment and statute are also being challenged in the House and Senate. Representative Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, and Senators Juan Hinojosa, D-McAllen, and Jose Rodriguez, D-El Paso, authored legislation calling for the repeal of the 2005 Texas mar-
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“WHAT I REALLY WISH CHRISTIANS WOULD PAY ATTENTION TO IS THAT THEIR VOTE MATTERS. IF WE WOULD SIMPLY VOTE, WE WOULDN’T BE FACING A LOT OF THESE ISSUES.” —SCOTT SANFORD, R-MCKINNEY riage amendment, which defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman and prohibits state recognition of same-sex marriages performed outside Texas. HB 130, authored by Anchia would amend the Texas Family Code to allow “a man and a woman, a man and a man, or a woman and a woman desiring to enter into a ceremonial marriage must obtain a marriage license from the county clerk of any county of this state.” Legislation related to education call for “free” universal pre-kindergarten for qualify-
ing students within a local school district. HB 70, authored by Rep. Mary Gonzalez, D-El Paso, relates to the prevention of discrimination against public school students and staff based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The law, if passed, requires districts to track instances of discrimination and file reports to the state every two years. HB 205, by Rep. Jeff Leach, RPlano, would prohibit “an entity or individual that performs abortions or an affiliate of an entity or individual that performs abortions” from providing
sex education or family planning instruction in a public school. Hettinger called the familyplanning teaching contracts held by Planned Parenthood affiliates “self-serving.” “If you stand to profit from abortion services, you can’t do this,” she said. Sanford asked for prayer for the legislators and urged Christian Texans to stay informed. “What I really wish Christians would pay attention to is that their vote matters,” he said. “If we would simply vote, we wouldn’t be facing a lot of these issues.”
MORE DETAILS ON SPECIFIC LEGISLATION AND A LIST OF ALL FILED BILLS CAN BE ACCESSED AT WWW.CAPITOL.STATE.TX.US/REPORTS/GENERAL.ASPX.
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JANUARY 27 2015 TEXANONLINE.NET 9
TEXAS, LA., MISS. MARRIAGE LAW CASES PRESENTED TO COURT OF APPEALS By Bonnie Pritchett NEW ORLEANS
The U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit heard challenges to marriage laws in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, Jan. 9. The similarity between the contested laws—defining marriage as a union only between a man and a woman and the prohibition against recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states—led the appellate court to hear the cases together. Each case was heard separately, but a common thread of questioning wove its way through the hearings. “The laws that are at issue are naturally the same, and the 14th Amendment challenges to these laws are identical,” Justin Matheny, attorney for the State of Mississippi told the court in his opening arguments. “The question is, ‘Does the 14th Amendment prohibit the state from defining marriage as between a man and a woman?’” Attorneys for the plaintiffs—samesex couples seeking to be married or have their out-of-state marriages recognized in the three states—argued the same amendment protects homosexuals as a “suspect class” of citizen countermanding the state’s ability to 10 TEXANONLINE.NET JANUARY 27, 2015
discriminate against them in matters of marriage law. Gay and lesbian couples contend there is no distinction between samesex and opposite-sex marriage relationships. But Jonathan Mitchell, Texas solicitor general, called that a “value judgment” not rising to the level of equal protection. “Equal protection of the laws does not require a state to confer equal treatment on things that are different,” he said, noting the differences in the contested marriage relationships are rooted in biological reality. “The 14th Amendment does not say that states must convey equal treatment on whatever federal judges think should be treated equally,” he said. Spectators lined up outside the New Orleans courthouse before proceedings began, vying for a seat in the chamber. Overflow seating with a remote audio feed from the courtroom was established to accommodate the anticipated large media and public interest in the case. Judges Patrick Higginbotham and Jerry Smith—both President Ronald Reagan nominees— and James Graves—a President Barack Obama appointee—were seated to hear Campaign for Southern Equality v. Phil Brya (Miss.), Robecheaux v.
Caldwell (La.), and De Leon v. Perry (Texas). Attorneys for the states argued legal precedent gives states the authority to define marriage, repeatedly citing Baker v. Nelson, the 1971 Minnesota Supreme Court ruling denying homosexual couples had a right to marry. A year later the U.S. Supreme Court upheld that case and the ruling still stands. But plaintiffs’ attorneys argued state sodomy laws prejudiced jurists against homosexuals seeking marriage licenses 42 years ago and that time, public opinion and the trajectory of court decisions affirming a fundamental right of marriage annuls Baker v. Nelson. “It was a different world, and it’s changed now,” Daniel Lane, attorney for the Texas plaintiffs in De Leon v. Perry, told the judges. But Judge Higginbotham disagreed. “No. There has been no other Supreme Court case even nearly on point on that specific question, which was whether it’s constitutional for a state to limit marriages to heterosexual couples. The court will let us know when it’s changed its mind,” he told Lane. Higginbotham often queried attorneys about the state’s authority to define marriage. Attorneys on both sides frequently cited the 2013
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WHERE IS SAME-SEX MARRIAGE LEGAL?
The U.S. Supreme Court announced Jan. 16 that it will take up an appeals court decision on same-sex marriage. A ruling is expected this summer and could render gay marriage legal throughout the country. This map shows where states stand on the issue right now. SAME-SEX MARRIAGE LEGALIZED CONSTITUTIONAL OR STATUTORY PROVISIONS PROHIBITING SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
decision in United States v. Windsor to advance their case. The New York lawsuit challenged Section 3 of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which stated the federal government would only recognize marriages between a man and a woman. The provision was struck down, and that ruling was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. States’ attorneys argued the Supreme Court decision did not define marriage and left that prerogative to the states. And although plaintiffs’ attorneys did not dispute that fact, Roberta Kaplan, attorney for the Mississippi plaintiffs, said, “The logic of Windsor says that gay people have a dignity that’s equal to everyone else. Once you accept that gay people are equal to everyone else, then all these reasons make no sense.” Promoting procreation and the raising of children within marriage was the salient argument presented by states’ attorneys. Laws and benefits proffered by the state are often inherently discriminatory, Mitchell said. Legal precedent allows for the imperfection of laws as a means to an end that
advances state interests; in this circumstance the raising of children by their biological mother and father which research indicates is the best environment for producing healthy productive children. But plaintiffs argued gay and lesbian couples can effectively raise children and charged the marriage laws were grounded in animus. “If the rationale is not logical, it only leaves animus,” Kaplan said. “It is not necessary to show overt hatred in order to show constitutionally admissible animus.” The marriage laws represent moral disapproval of homosexuality, the plaintiffs’ attorneys argued. But Mitchell argued a distinction between groups of people does not equate to animusrooted discrimination. If it were so plaintiff’s attorneys would have to argue that “the common law background, which predates these enactments and has existed since time and memorial, was also rooted in animus,” he said. Attorneys for the states recognized the societal shift in its consideration of same-sex marriage but noted it has only been legally recognized anywhere in
the world for just over 10 years. Because of that, they asked for judges to take a “wait and see” approach before dismantling the traditional institution of marriage. Mitchell, who argued the Texas case last, closed by reminding the judges that Texas’s marriage law does not conflict with any holding of the Supreme Court nor does it contradict constitutional language. “The court must uphold the law regardless of how much a judge disagrees with them as a matter of policy,” Mitchell concluded. As state laws defining marriage as a union between a man and woman are struck down at an overwhelming rate by federal and appellate courts, advocates on both sides of the same-sex marriage debate anxiously await as the 5th Circuit Court considers the arguments. A ruling is not expected before April; however, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Jan. 16 to review a separate appeals court decision on same-sex marriage, with a ruling likely to come this summer, which will affect the cases in Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana. JANUARY 27 2015 TEXANONLINE.NET 11
FIGHTING CITY HALL:
PLANO PETITION DRIVE SUCCEEDS WHILE HOUSTON AWAITS ITS DAY IN COURT Texans fight city ordinances that threaten religious liberty and free speech By Bonnie Pritchett PLANO
Plano Citizens United, a coalition of churches and civic leaders this week cleared the first hurdle in rescinding a city ordinance that legal experts said would stymie free speech and religious liberty, while opponents of a similar ordinance in Houston prepare to take their fight to court. With no preexisting ministerial alliance in place, Plano churches were caught flat-footed when the city council, led by Mayor Harry LaRosilier, passed an ordinance Dec. 8 creating a protected class of citizen based on sexual orientation and gender identity. With help from the Houston pastors’ coalition, opposition to the Plano Mayor ordinance was hastily organized and a successful Harry LaRosilier petition drive mounted. In order to force the repeal process, the coalition needed signatures of 3,822 registered Plano voters. The volunteer group verified over 4,000 signatures before submitting almost 7,000 to the city secretary Jan. 20. “The mayor has been adamant,” said Mike Buster, executive pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano. “He will not discuss this with anyone. The citizens of Plano said we will discuss it. We will vote on it.” The ordinance, like Houston’s and scores of others passed in cities across the nation, is championed by the Human Rights Campaign, a national organization calling for civil rights protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals. The ordinances are beginning to meet opposition as they are brought to light. 12 TEXANONLINE.NET JANUARY 27, 2015
Plano is home to the Liberty Institute, a religious liberty advocacy organization. Their attorneys joined the Citizens United legal battle and stated in a press release, “Government officials have demanded that family businesses and employees be punished for simply trying to exercise their faith beyond the four walls of their churches or in their homes.” Opponents of Houston’s Equal Rights Ordinance, passed last May, are taking their battle to court next week. Barring any delay by Houston’s legal team of city and pro bono attorneys, jury selection should begin Monday, Jan. 26. The No Unequal Rights Coalition, led by a racially diverse group of Houston pastors,
“THE MAYOR HAS BEEN ADAMANT. HE WILL NOT DISCUSS THIS WITH ANYONE. THE CITIZENS OF PLANO SAID WE WILL DISCUSS IT. WE WILL VOTE ON IT.” —MIKE BUSTER, EXECUTIVE PASTOR, PRESTONWOOD BAPTIST CHURCH
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“GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS HAVE DEMANDED THAT FAMILY BUSINESSES AND EMPLOYEES BE PUNISHED FOR SIMPLY TRYING TO EXERCISE THEIR FAITH BEYOND THE FOUR WALLS OF THEIR CHURCHES OR IN THEIR HOMES.” —PLANO CITIZENS UNITED PRESS RELEASE
gathered 50,000 signatures on a petition to force the ordinance’s repeal. Following verification by City Secretary Anna Russell, City Attorney David Feldman disqualified thousands of pages of signatures, effectively defeating the recall effort. The coalition filed a lawsuit against the City of Houston, Feldman and Mayor Annise Parker demanding they recognize the signatures and present the petition to City Council as required by law. A jury will determine if Feldman and Parker acted outside their authority in squelching the referendum. No such interference has come from Plano city administrators, said Dave Welch, ex-
ecutive director of the Houston Area Pastors Council, which led opposition to Houston’s ERO and helped coordinate the Plano referendum effort. However, he said, hostility from the LGBT advocates was swift. “It just got ugly real fast. It was very enlightening,” Welch said. Welch said coalition headquarters received antagonistic phone calls and business owners opposed to the ordinance were threatened with demonstrations outside their businesses.
But how can Christians fight against city hall without appearing to fight against those who would benefit from the ordinances? “We have to state, always up front, we love all people. And this is an issue of religious liberty,” Buster said. Mark Reid, a Plano Citizens United volunteer and small business owner, told The TEXAN arguing against “anti-gay” and “bigot” labels is futile. “The issue is not about hating anyone. I don’t fight it on that basis,” said Reid. Instead he demands protection of his First Amendment rights. As an employer whose crews work in schools and churches, he can admonish employees for inappropriate behavior. But with the Plano ordinance in full force, Reid said his speech—grounded in his Christian convictions—could be deemed in violation of city code. “That’s not equal rights. That’s special rights, and that’s wrong,” Reid said. If the Plano signatures are certified, the city council must repeal the equal rights ordinance or put it on the ballot in the next general election in May. JANUARY 27 2015 TEXANONLINE.NET 13
COURT OF APPEALS HEARS ARGUMENTS ON TEXAS ABORTION REGULATIONS BILL By Bonnie Pritchett NEW ORLEANS
In what could be a precedent-setting case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit heard arguments in Whole Woman’s Health vs. Lakey, Jan. 7, part of the ongoing legal challenges contesting the 2013 Texas abortion regulations law, which observers agree is headed to the U.S. Supreme Court later this year. “Texas, in many cases, will be a case of first impressions,” said Denise Burke, vice president of legal affairs for Americans United for Life. But it wasn’t the first time the appellate court heard arguments against House Bill 2, an omnibus piece of legislation establishing strict standards of operation for Texas abortion providers. In 2013 the court overturned a ruling by Federal Court Judge Lee Yeakel. But in this latest lawsuit—in which two provisions, again, were declared unconstitutional by Yeakel—Stephanie Toti, senior counsel for the Center for Reproductive Rights, argued HB 2 simply targets abortion clinics for closure with the “imposition of burdensome requirements.” At issue are provisions requiring abortion clinics meet the same ambulatory service center (ASC) regula14 TEXANONLINE.NET JANUARY 27, 2015
tory standards as other outpatient medical clinics and that abortion physicians receive admitting privileges to hospitals within a 30-mile radius of the abortion clinic. Of the five states with ASC laws, Texas’s is the first to be challenged at the appellate level. Admitting privileges have been upheld on appeal in Texas and other states. Burke noted that abortion rights advocacy began in Texas with Roe vs. Wade, so it is only fitting that a prolife law passed in Texas challenge the status quo. In the lawsuit, plaintiffs contend the combined application of the two provisions forced the closure of clinics in El Paso and McAllen thus requiring women to drive 550 miles and 250 miles, respectively, to the nearest Texas abortion clinic. That created an undue burden according to the plaintiffs, who sought an exemption from HB 2 compliance for the two far-flung clinics. But it is the enigmatic “undue burden” test that has lead appellate courts across the nation to quantify the term relative to their own jurisdictions. Prescribed but not defined in its 1992 Planned Parenthood vs. Casey ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court declared states could regulate the abortion industry but not to the
point of creating an “undue burden” for a woman seeking an abortion. This spring, U.S. 5th Circuit Judges Catharina Haynes, Edward Prado, and Jennifer Walker Elrod—all President George W. Bush appointees—will determine if Texas law crossed that invisible line. In doing so there may be one line the court could consider crossing—the Texas-New Mexico border. In a 2014 ruling, the 5th Circuit Court blocked the enforcement of a Mississippi admitting privileges law that would have closed the only abortion clinic in the state. The court determined Mississippi’s obligation to provide abortions could not be foisted onto a neighboring state. Toti argued the same applies to Texas. With the closing of the El Paso clinic, West Texas women seeking an abortion must travel 550 miles to San Antonio— an obvious undue burden, Toti said. Judge Haynes conceded the point. “So we have women driving 150 miles, 200, 500 … and the problems stemming from an abortion arise, maybe down the road. And that might be, literally, down the road … in the middle of nowhere. Isn’t that a problem?” Haynes asked Texas Solicitor General Jonathan Mitchell. Mitchell said the scenario justifies “as applied”
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relief specifically for the El Paso clinic, which has remained closed since implementation of the law. But even that relief should be denied, he argued, because El Paso women can go
to a clinic 17 miles away in Santa Teresa, N.M. Judge Elrod agreed that Texas cannot “export [its] constitutional obligations” but asked Toti to explain why Texas law should be
NORTH TEXAS MARCH FOR LIFE Thousands of pro-life advocates, young and old, marched through downtown Dallas, Jan. 17, as part of the North Texas March for Life. The annual event, held near the anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, concluded with a rally on the steps of the Earle Cabell Federal Courthouse, where the Roe case was first filed.
bound by the court’s Mississippi ruling when the circumstances are different. Mississippi had one abortion clinic. Texas has seven or eight. As Toti began to respond, Haynes interrupted. “We know no one is going to drive 550 miles. They’re going to go to New Mexico, and you’re asking us to ignore that,” Haynes said, calling the New Mexico clinic an adequate remedy to the undue burden test. Toti said “shuttling” Texas women to an abortion clinic across the border defeats the purpose of HB 2 in providing quality abortion services. Haynes told Mitchell his use of the New Mexico clinic as a defense against the need for “as applied” relief seemed hypocritical. But Mitchell said women can— and do—go anywhere they want for abortion services, noting a New Mexico abortion doctor testified that most of his patients came from Texas even before HB 2 was passed. Mitchell also said the closure of the lone Rio Grande Valley abortion clinic defies plaintiffs’ undue burden challenge. A previous HB 2 decision by the 5th Circuit ruled the drive from McAllen to the closest clinic in Corpus Christi 153 miles away was not an undue burden. But the Corpus Christi clinic has closed since that decision, making the San Antonio clinic the closest abortion facility for McAllen women. Mitchell told the court the additional 80 mile drive did not pose a burden. In another line of questioning put to Toti, Haynes seemed exasperated, not with the plaintiff’s attorney but the JANUARY 27 2015 TEXANONLINE.NET 15
federal court decision she was forced to defend. In his Aug. 29, 2013 decision, Yeakel wrote HB 2 created an “impermissible obstacle” and an “undue burden” on Texas women seeking an abortion and allowed the exemptions for El Paso and McAllen. But he then disqualified both provisions as unconstitutional and unenforceable statewide. “Wouldn’t you agree that the district court’s order is overbroad?” asked Haynes. Toti disagreed. All the regulations flow from a single statutory mandate that plaintiffs argued failed to “advance a valid state interest, and because the district court found it was motivated by an improper purpose, it’s invalid in all of its applications.” Sounding frustrated, Haynes responded, “But there was no effort to parse that at all.”
STUDENT EVANGELISM CONFERENCES More than a thousand teenagers attended the Movement North Student Evangelism Conference Jan . 16-17 at Fielder Church in Arlington. Students and youth pastors were equipped with the One Cross App and other evangelism methods. During the weekend, nearly 140 sudents made decisions, including 23 for salvation and 45 for the call to ministry. A second conference, Movement South, was held Jan. 23-24 at Castle Hills Baptist Church in San Antonio.
16 TEXANONLINE.NET JANUARY 27, 2015
Instead of dismissing the ASC provision as a whole, Haynes asked if the plaintiffs’ case would not have been better served by analyzing the measure for elements that do not meet a rational standard. “That kind of decision is much harder for an appellate court to say is improper,” she said. But Toti said Supreme Court precedent prohibits a district judge from “rewriting law” even in an effort to save it. When making its ruling, the appellate court must take into consideration its own precedent, that of other appellate courts and whether the Supreme Court will overturn their decision. Elrod listed the disparity of appellate decisions on undue burden alone. “The courts are all over the map on this,” Mitchell said. But,
he added, whatever standard the Supreme Court chooses to use, Texas “clearly wins on the facial challenge, and the only difficult question becomes what’s the status of the ‘as applied’ claims in El Paso and McAllen.” Amy Hagstrom Miller, president and CEO of Whole Woman’s Health, which has abortion centers in San Antonio and Las Cruces, N.M., attended the hearing. In a written statement posted afterward, Miller said her case received a good hearing from the judges, but she was not hopeful for a favorable outcome. “We will anxiously be awaiting the Fifth Circuit Court’s decision and actively preparing to mobilize either through the legal process or in our communities to keep our doors open,” she wrote. The court could have a decision by April or May.
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D I S A S T E R
R E L I E F
SBTC DR teams aid Oak Cliff church destroyed by fire Special service to support Deliverance MBC to be held Feb. 7 By Jane Rodgers OAK CLIFF
Southern Baptists of Texas Convention disaster relief volunteers deployed January 14 to clear rubble and debris left after a fire destroyed Deliverance Missionary Baptist Church in east Oak Cliff. The DR team came in after city crews had torn down what remained of the charred building after the blaze was extinguished. The cause of the Jan. 9 early morning fire remains unknown, said Kenneth Andrews, senior pastor of the SBTC congregation. A team of four led by Doug Scott, with volunteers from Atlanta, Leonard and Dallas, worked throughout the day, moving debris to the curb by skid steer. Scott’s crew was joined at noon by a new SBTC DR unit from Mansfield on its first deployment. “The church doesn’t have the funds to have a dumpster there or trailers to haul it off,” Scott said, noting that Andrews, who came out to the site to greet the
DR volunteers, remained “upbeat, wondering what the Lord was going to do with the situation.” “A large pile 10 or 12 feet tall is left, but it’s all in one place,” Scott added. The area surrounding the church at 2600 East Ann Arbor Avenue is low income. “Twice a week, we fed 65-70 homeless and hungry at our church during the lunch hour,” Andrews told the TEXAN. “This is the type of area Jesus ministered to when He was on earth,” Scott said. “It’s a big challenge. That’s why we go. We end up interacting with people, and they either tell us something that blesses us, or we tell them something that blesses them. It is a mutual thing.” With the debris cleared, the church’s future remains uncertain. “We don’t know our plans,” Andrews told the TEXAN. “We’ve been on the news across the nation. Our insurance was canceled. We have no money to rebuild. We are hoping to rent a building, buy a building or find funds to rebuild where we were.”
Andrews, the church’s senior pastor since 2003— and only the second in its 51-year history—has been involved with Deliverance MBC since 1992. Donations to help the church have started coming in, Andrews said. AfricanAmerican churches and employees of DeSoto Independent School District, where Andrews has worked part time for the past nine years as a crossing guard, have made inquiries. Meanwhile, the Deliverance MBC congregation of 80 is worshiping with another Baptist church in Oak Cliff, Greater St. John Primitive Baptist Church. Andrews was scheduled to preach and the Deliverance choir to sing Sunday, Jan. 18, at Greater St. John PBC. A special service to support Deliverance will be held Saturday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. at Greater New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, an SBTC church located at 2654 Kilburn Avenue, Dallas.
JANUARY 27 2015 TEXANONLINE.NET 17
Jim Stitzinger
Friendly Fire in the Church
F
riendly fire is a devastating reality of war. In the velocity of action and unrelenting conflict, battlefield weapons can be redirected toward the wrong target with unforgiving consequences. The trauma and scars of physical combat are compounded for everyone involved when the source is someone wearing the same uniform. What takes place in that regrettable scene on a battlefield is sadly a reality in the church as well. Despite the obvious differences in force of action, there is also a difference in motive. Friendly fire on a battlefield is right intentions in the wrong direction. Friendly fire in the church is wrong intentions in the wrong direction. When Christians default to sinful assaults on other believers, the glory of Christ is dismantled and everyone gets hit. Hugh Hewitt recently challenged a room full of leaders to “expect to get hit from behind.” Anticipate that your most scathing, personal assaults will often come from those you partner with in ministry—those you learn from, recruit, hire, mentor, lead and serve. It’s not the attacks from unbelievers in the community or even from believers on the periphery of the ministry. It is assaults from those who have direct access to your heart, who, for whatever reason, use their access and knowledge to launch accusations, spread gossip and advance slander. Similar to the volley of war, it is anything but friendly. No New Testament pastor had his character assaulted and sabotaged more than Paul. Time after time, those he sacrificially served, attacked him, accusing him of being in ministry for impure, self serving reasons. It goes with the territory of ministry. When you find yourself in those crosshairs, here is a simple strategy for responding to and recovering from personal attacks: 1. Be humble. Dump defensiveness. We have sin in areas we do not even consider. Though we may not be guilty of anything to provoke the sharp assault of others, sin is nonetheless in us. God often uses these situations, including our reaction, to unearth pride from which we must repent. 2. Examine your conscience. The sting of attacks can often blind us from our true faults. Take even exaggerated accusations as an opportunity to examine your heart before God. Invite the candid input of honest sources of biblical feedback. Cultivate sensitivity to the Spirit’s conviction under Scripture’s diagnosis. 18 TEXANONLINE.NET JANUARY 27, 2015
3. Repent where you did sin. Repent of any sin that has been revealed. It may not be the subject on which you were attacked; however, regardless of what it is, sin must be repented of and forsaken. 4. Respond immediately. Let your critic know you are humbly considering their words. If something is found from your internal introspection and consultation with others, then confess it immediately. This clears you out of the way and prepares you for the next step. 5. Confront the source. Cowardly Pharisees love to launch verbal grenades. If you are innocent in what you’ve been slandered, then with the boldness of a lion, confront them head on. Failure here only allows sin to flourish. In a loving, direct way, go directly to the source and follow the pathway of Matthew 18. 6. Forgive, even if reconciliation is improbable. Remember, some critics only want chaos, not biblical unity. Even if biblically reconciling is complicated and unlikely, we can have a genuine heart of forgiveness. That releases me from growing bitter and vindictive. When you forgive, keep your promise. Have a short memory for others’ failures even on this front. Leave a road back, remembering the kindness of God and his grace with you. 7. Pray for them. Jesus tells us to do this in Matthew 5. That’s not there simply as a nice thought; it is a critical prevention of bitterness and revenge. If conversations of your attackers arrive in your home, be sure to lead those family members in prayer for the situation. Never assume everyone in your home processes your attackers in the same way. Many “pastor’s kids” have grown up hating their father’s verbal assailants without being taught how to entrust these things to God. 8. Rest in God’s defense. One pastor recently reminded me, “One day all wrongs will be made right, it just may not be in my lifetime.” Vindication on earth is often rare. To the greatest extent possible, abide as Paul exhorted, being at peace with all men. One day, on that day, God will make all wrongs right. Rest. Don’t replay the conversations with your confidants and shadow box your accuser. Entrust it to God and get back to work. If you are walking in righteousness before our holy God, do not be surprised when false accusations, unfair criticism and slander flow your way. It’s part of leadership; it’s part of ministry. Don’t flinch but endure in the same manner as Christ did with his disciples, Paul did with the early church leaders and countless godly servants of Christ continue today. Press on. —Jim Stitzinger serves as the associate vice president of Institutional Advancement and director of the Bevin Center for Missions Mobilization at Southern Seminary. This article first appeared at sbts.edu.