august 2016 texan issue

PASTORS & POLITICS 10

EQUIP CONFERENCE

TRUCK STOP MINISTRY 11

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AUGUST 2016

Newsjournal of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention N MORE NEWS AT TEXANONLINE.NET

SOUTHEAST DALLAS COUNTY

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U.S. SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN TEXAS ABORTION LAW By Bonnie Pritchett TEXAN Correspondent

Dallas County church quenches physical, spiritual thirst in community void of potable water By Jane Rodgers TEXAN Correspondent

R SEAGOVILLE

esidents of Sandbranch in southeast Dallas County have lacked potable water due to contaminated water wells for a startling three decades, but a local church has committed itself to quenching the physical and spiritual thirst of this 138-year-old unincorporated community. Four years ago, Eugene Keahey became pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church and saw an immediate need to serve the tiny, 100-member community of Sandbranch. He decided to expand the services of the 501c3 organization, Project Dreamhaus, that he and his wife, Deanna, founded in 2001. Once focused on providing scholarship and educational opportunities for youth, now Project Dreamhaus also helps to bring basic services to the Mt. Zion community. See WATER, 2

Dallas churches respond to shootings, encourage unity By Jane Rodgers TEXAN Correspondent

Dallas-area churches responded quickly to the racially motivated shooting during a Black Lives Matter protest in downtown July 7, where a gunman targeted police officers, leaving five officers dead and seven wounded in addition to two civilians.

WASHINGTON, D.C. In a 5-3 decision June 27, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional a 2013 Texas law regulating the operating standards of abortion providers and the clinics they operate. The decision not only overturns a lower court ruling upholding the law but puts into jeopardy similar laws across the nation. The upbeat mood of prolife advocates in front of the Supreme Court turned on a dime as the decision was released shortly after 10 a.m. EDT. In a live stream posted on the Students for Life of America Facebook page, cheers broke out offcamera as pro-abortion advocates celebrated the court’s decision. The ruling overturns requirements that abortion clinics maintain specific operating standards and their doctors have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. “This is not something to celebrate,” Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life told the crowd.

See ABORTION, 3

Churches close to the scene offered physical and spiritual support, and others hosted prayer services and funerals to help the community heal from the tragedy. See DALLAS, 7

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“We have to bring a real Jesus to a real need. It’s not enough for me to talk Jesus on Sunday from the pulpit. I have to walk Jesus in the neighborhood.” 5Sandbranch community members receive food bank services at Mt. Zion Baptist Church. The church provided 100,000 gallons of drinking water and distributed 1.7 millino pounds of food to the community last year. PHOTO BY EUGENE KEAHEY

Pastor Eugene Keahey of Mt. Zion Baptist Church baptizes a man in the portable baptistry provided by the SBTC. Several people have waited two years or more to be baptized. PHOTO BY BARRY CALHOUN

WATER CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

The organization operates out of Mt. Zion, last year providing 100,000 gallons of drinking water to the community and distributing 1.7 million pounds of food, fruit and vegetables, Keahey said. “It all takes place at the church. People come and go shopping each Saturday. They sign their names and give their zip codes and take what they need,” Keahey explained, noting that food bank services extend beyond Sandbranch to southeast Dallas County. “We serve from Wilmer Hutchins all the way up to Balch Springs.” Much of the food distributed is provided by the North Texas Food Bank, Keahey said. In 2015, Mt. Zion and Project Dreamhaus also sponsored back-to-school events, free haircuts, a clothes closet and Christmas giveaways, sometimes with corporate sponsors like Ozarka and Baylor Medical Center. “We have to bring a real Jesus to a real need,” Keahey said. “It’s not enough for me to talk Jesus on Sunday from the pulpit. I have to walk Jesus in the neighborhood.” Walking Jesus in the neighborhood is exactly what Keahey does. Afternoons often find him playing a board game with Sandbranch children or rocking on the porch with an elderly resident. In Sandbranch, serving up living water also means providing bottled water.

“For you and me, bottled water is dispensable. If we drink half of it fine,” Keahey elaborated. “But not in this community. [Here] it is life or death, a human necessity. They use it for drinking, cooking, washing, bathing.” Like the community, Mt. Zion Baptist Church also lacks potable water. “[Church] water comes from a sandpit,” Keahey said. “One of our members goes to the sandpit and drains water out so we can flush the latrines on Sunday.” Keahey added that he even sets an alarm on his watch to remind him to wrap up Wednesday night services within one hour because of the absence of working restrooms during the week. “I didn’t think I’d be using any of my degrees in a third-world country,” Keahey, a former middle school math teacher and youth pastor, laughed. But until water and basic services come to Sandbranch, the area is essentially a “thirdworld” territory that Mt. Zion plans to continue to help. Hope for the community is on the horizon from other sources, too. The Dallas Morning News reported in April that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had approved infrastructure improvements in Sandbranch, lifting a ban that had been in place for years because the community has a one percent chance of annual flooding from the Trinity River. “Agencies have come forward to help,” Keahey said, noting that the United States

Department of Agriculture has offered assistance to pay for water and repairs to houses and that the Environmental Protection Agency has affirmed the quality of the community’s septic tanks. The USDA also approved funding for an engineering survey as a preliminary step to bringing water to Sandbranch. The Weatherford engineering firm of Jacob & Martin LLC received the contract to supply water to Sandbranch, Keahey said, adding that the firm presented its findings in a community meeting at the church on July 2.

— EUGENE K EAH EY, PASTOR M T. ZI ON BAPTI ST C H UR C H

In the meantime, a Clean Sandbranch Day on June 1 was a great success, Keahey said. “We wanted 300 to show up. But as God does, it was over 500 people. We cleaned the entire community, fellowshipped, ate, had a really good time. People from all walks of life came to see the community and help it. Some came from as far away as Tyler, to help clean up.” With assistance from the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, another church need was met by the donation of a portable baptistry, Keahey added, praising the efforts of SBTC mobilization director Barry Calhoun in facilitating SBTC involvement and pastor Wm. Dwight McKissic, Sr., of Arlington’s Cornerstone Baptist Church in initially making the needs known to the SBTC. A special baptismal service was held at the church July 3 and attended by Calhoun. “It was the first time since I’ve been there that we have actually baptized at the church.

Some have waited over two years to be baptized,” Keahey said of the four believers baptized Sunday. Eleven more are awaiting baptism. “It was an historic service for Mt. Zion Baptist Church in a community lacking the essentials,” Calhoun said. “They could do something every church should be able to do: baptize people who have dedicated their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ.” “Our church is small,” Keahey said, explaining that the church had grown from 35 to 100. “We were going to hold the baptisms in a horse trough. Then the SBTC showed up to support us. We are so appreciative. The baptistry is beautiful. And it heats up. We can now baptize in summer and winter. You can’t do that in a horse trough!” For more information and links to the community of Sandbranch, visit projectdreamhaus. com or email Keahey at eugene@ projectdreamhaus.com.

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ABORTION CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

The decision nullifies two of the four parts of House Bill 2 drafted and passed in 2013 in the midst of clashing demonstrations at the Texas State Capitol by abortion activists vehemently opposing the bill and pro-life advocates pressing for its passage. The two standing regulations prohibit abortions after 20 weeks of conception and require that abortion inducing medications be administered per manufacturers’ instructions. Under scrutiny in the case—Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt—were requirements that physicians providing abortions also have admitting privileges at a hospital within a 30-mile radius of the abortion facility and that abortion clinics meet ambulatory surgical standards of care. The revocation of Texas admitting privileges and ASC standards puts into peril similar laws in other states. A close reading of the court’s rationale would determine if similar laws are equally undermined, Denise Burke, vice president of legal affairs at Americans United for Life, told the TEXAN. In Texas, approximately 16 abortion clinics were still in operation pending the outcome of WWH v. Hellerstedt. How many clinics will re-open since being shuttered in 2014 is unknown. Writing the majority opinion, Justice Stephen Breyer cited the court’s 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision and its ambiguous “undue burden” test. In his opinion, he wrote, “We conclude that neither of these provisions offers medical benefits sufficient to justify the burdens upon access that each imposes. Each places a substantial obstacle in the path of women seeking a previability abortion, each constitutes an undue burden on abortion access.” Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in his dissenting opinion the majority ruling “radically” rewrote the undue burden test, which had affirmed states’ rights to regulate abortion providers and their clinics. He said the decision employed far greater scrutiny of abortion clinic regulations than the Casey precedent allowed. “These precepts are nowhere to be found in Casey or its successors, and transform the undue burden test to something much more akin to strict scrutiny,” Thomas wrote. Additionally, Thomas argued, the scrutiny is selective. Noting the previous

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week’s Fisher v. The University of Texas decision allowing public universities to consider a potential student’s race in admission standards, Thomas wrote, “This term, it is easier for a state to survive strict scrutiny despite discriminating on the basis of race in college admissions than it is for the same state to regulate how abortion doctors and clinics operate under the putatively less stringent undue-burden test. All the state apparently needs to show to survive strict scrutiny is a list of aspirational educational goals … and a ‘reasoned, principled explanation’ for why it is pursuing them.” Citing two particular objections Justice Samuel Alito was equally critical of the majority’s decision. First the majority refused to consider the bill’s severability clause that should have saved portions of the challenged regulations. Secondly, the court should not have agreed to hear the admitting privileges challenge since that provision had already been tried and lost in an earlier lawsuit by Planned Parenthood. That, Alito said, should have ended the legal challenge of that provision of the law. “The Court’s patent refusal to apply well-established law in a neutral way is indefensible and will undermine public confidence in the Court as a fair and neutral arbiter,” Alito wrote. The court’s ruling puts into question a state’s authority to regulate abortion providers as affirmed in Casey. Texas State Representative Jodi Laubenberg, who authored HB 2, told the TEXAN there are no plans as yet to address the courts undermining of state regulative authority. It would take a constitutional amendment to undo what was done, she said. “This decision is bad news for women and a sad day for our nation,” she said in a prepared statement following the decision. “Women deserve the same standard of care at abortion clinics as they would receive at a medical facility. Obviously the politics of abortion supersedes the health and safety for women.” As abortion advocates railed against HB 2 regulations the past three years, Planned Parenthood—the nation’s largest abortion provider and recipient of almost $500 million in tax-payer funding—opened a new HB 2-compliant abortion mega-center in San Antonio in direct competition with WWH v. Hellerstedt lead plaintiff Amy Hagstrom-Miller. Opening the new abortion facility in San Antonio instead of the Rio Grande Valley, where abortionists claimed the need for a facility was greatest, indicated the fight was not about abortion rights but abortion revenues.

COVER FEATURE

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“ T H E S U P R E M E C O U R T T O D AY H A S TA K E N A S TA N D O N T H E W R O N G SIDE OF JUSTICE, THE WRONG SIDE O F H U M A N D I G N I T Y, A N D T H E WRONG SIDE OF THE GOSPEL .

The church must stand ready to receive more refugees from the sexual revolution’s broken promises and shattered hopes. For them, we have a better word than any court could give.” — R U S S E LL M O O R E , P R ES I DENT OF TH E S OUTH ER N BAPTI ST CO N V E N TI O N ’ S E THI C S AND R EL I GI OUS L I BERTY COM M I S S I ON

“The abortion clinics are about money. They go where the population is,” Laubenberg told the TEXAN. Clarke Forsythe, acting president of Americans United for Life, said the high court decision contravenes explicit precedent allowing states to regulate the abortion industry within their borders. In a prepared statement, Forsythe wrote, “In striking down these commonsense requirements, the Supreme Court has essentially accepted the abortion industry’s argument that it should be allowed to keep its profits high and patient care standards low.” In his dissent, Alito said he did not dispute that HB 2 was responsible for the closure of some Texas abortion clinics. But he noted the law was drafted in the wake of the conviction of Pennsylvania abortionist Kermit Gosnell for the murder of three infants born alive and the manslaughter of a woman seeking an abortion in his unregulated clinic. “If Pennsylvania had had such a requirement in force, the Gosnell facility may have been shut down before his crimes. And if there were any similarly unsafe facilities in Texas, HB 2 was clearly intended to put them out of business,” Alito said.

Pro-life advocates, many of whom were young adults, rallied near the Supreme Court building and declared their determination to press on despite the huge legal setback. Laubenberg and other Christians recognized the work of promoting a culture of life will not take place in the court but in the public square. “This morning I was praying about this,” Laubenberg said. “I said, ‘Lord, what is this a reflection of?’” Answering her own question, the representative said a self-centered society has wrought the decision. “This is part of it—disposing of babies,” she said. In his response to the ruling, Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, wrote, “The Supreme Court today has taken a stand on the wrong side of justice, the wrong side of human dignity, and the wrong side of the gospel. The church must stand ready to receive more refugees from the sexual revolution’s broken promises and shattered hopes. For them, we have a better word than any court could give.”

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OPINION

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MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN Gary Ledbetter Editor

“Blasphemy” is irreverence for God and for the things he has declared holy. The scene from Daniel 5 is a perfect picture of blasphemy. Belshazzar, the son of Nebuchadnezzar and king of great Babylon, is having a party. In an effort to exalt himself over all things, he has the implements taken from the Hebrew temple brought so he and his guests could drink libations to pagan gods from these vessels. A sobering moment came when the king saw “the handwriting on the wall.” You know the story. Daniel, the aging prophet, was brought to read and interpret the mysterious words, “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin.” Before doing so he rebuked the king for his pride and dishonor before God. The message was that Babylon would fall to an army that, unbeknownst to the revelers, was already invading the city. Ancient historians record that the Persian army sneaked into the city while a great feast was underway. That night, Belshazzar died and Babylon fell. His spe-

cific blasphemy of that night only followed a life of obstinate pride and impiety on the part of the empire and its king. But when Babylon fell, the empire’s leaders were caught doing the things that typified their condemnable course. No lesson in Scripture has seemed more pertinent to me over the past few weeks than does this final event in the history of Babylon. Just a year ago the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergfell v. Hodges—essentially overturning the voters’ verdicts in several states that marriage has a fixed and coherent meaning. This year’s big finale also overturned the ability of voters to speak on a crucial and foundational issue, this time the value of mothers and babies. Many have spoken eloquently on this particular case, Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt; none speak for my heart so well as Justice Clarence Thomas in his dissent, (supremecourt.gov/ opinions/15pdf/15-274_p8k0.pdf). The celebratory response to both decisions was startling and overt in its blasphemy. The most familiar example is a tweet from The Daily Show that praised this victory for industrialized and unregulated abortion by crudely encourag-

LIKE DANIEL, LET US TAKE SERIOUSLY THE THINGS OF GOD—WE MUST BE KNOWN FOR THAT, TO A GREATER DEGREE THAN NOW. WE’RE NOT UNDONE WHEN OTHERS DO OTHERWISE, BRINGING CATASTROPHE ON THE NATION; BUT NEITHER SHOULD WE BE TEMPTED TO JOIN THE PARTY, HANDLING IRREVERENTLY THE THINGS OF GOD.

ing men to impregnate women in Texas. Some of the other responses of private individuals were worse and more crude. One columnist spoke of being happy that the late Justice Antonin Scalia is dead, especially after the Whole Woman’s Health ruling. Clearly, we have gone beyond the “Safe, Legal and Rare” myth. The celebratory responses to Obergfell were just as mean and irreverent, if less bloodthirsty. I guess I’m saying that if America falls tonight, this is what our nation will be caught doing, showing future generations the reason for our fall. Those who fear God use the word “sanctity” to describe marriage and life indicating our belief—certainty, really—that these things are God’s particular

prerogatives. We disrespect his person when we scorn them. I offer two thoughts about the whole matter of blasphemy and cultural wreckage. First, Daniel was not undone or aflutter about all this. He’d seen kings and their outrageous behaviors come and go; still, the unchanging Sovereign abides. You can see his confidence when the old man rebukes the king of Babylon as if he is a disobedient child. He refuses to sell his credibility for trinkets, he scorns the threats of kings, and he stands as empires rise and fall. That’s God at work, not Daniel. He’s still at work and will be as nations, even ours, wax and wane. The second thing is an “in the meantime” encouragement. We’re still here, and we still have rights as full citizens of

a free country. It’s not time to build a monastery or stockpile ammunition against that day. We should have the truth of God in our mouths and a voter registration card in our pockets. We should show up for Election Day for however many years or generations we are allowed to do so. In this way, when Belshazzar asks us to speak for our God, we should do so. We are frequently reminded after a Supreme Court legislative action that elections have consequences. Presidents elected without substantial turnout from our churches appoint the justices. Senators elected without substantial turnout from our churches approve those justices. And so it goes all the way down to the lesbian sheriff of my county to the Fort Worth ISD school board in neighboring Tarrant County. We act surprised when something terrible happens. Like Daniel, let us take seriously the things of God—we must be known for that, to a greater degree than now. We’re not undone when others do otherwise, bringing catastrophe on the nation; but neither should we be tempted to join the party, handling irreverently the things of God.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR,

LETTER TO THE EDITOR,

LETTER TO THE EDITOR,

I am a bit dismayed by the open letter written by Duesing, White and Yarnell [in the July issue of the TEXAN]. Just how far are we Baptists to go to accommodate other religions? In order to give religious freedom to Moslems do we let them practice Sharia Law with all its cruelty…beheading Christians and anyone else who disagrees with Islam and preaching violence in the Mosques. They state, “We ask our brother and we ask all Baptists, as well as other people interested in human freedom, to join us in preserving this first freedom, freedom of religion, and in rejecting any restrictions on its universal application.” I do not believe the writers of our Constitution or the statements they quote from past Baptists had anything like that in mind. The writers of the Word of God certainly do not approve of the practices of Islam. If these “leaders” have no better understanding of the world of Islam and the Word of God than they exhibited in their letter, they should not be in Baptist Universities or seminaries. Their letter could easily have been written by an Imam!

In reference to the July 2016 article in the Southern Baptist Texan titled “An Open Letter For Preserving the First Freedom of Universal Religious Liberty”: The writer(s) said in the article, “The Southern Baptist Convention has adopted dozens of religious liberty resolutions since our inception in 1845, and this resolution, from 2011, specifically supports the freedom of Muslims to build mosques.” If this belief is supported by the Southern Baptist Convention and the writer(s), then should it not also be right to say to the Church of Satan, “we support the building of your Satanic Temples and your right to sacrifice and worship as you please”? It is sad to think that if I come up with a religion I can do whatever feels good or seems right. What happened to testing everything against God’s true Word? (Judges 21:25)

I am sad to see this. We as Southern Baptists should not join in a lawsuit to help build a mosque. It is ridiculous. Russell Moore talks about “soul freedom.” I have heard this term used for years by ultra-liberal groups and individuals. I notice one of the groups in the lawsuit is Unitarian Universalists. They are not even Christian either. I do not want my tithe going to this. His salary and the salary of his staff are paid by Southern Baptists, and I hope trustees will address this at their upcoming meeting. Dr. Adrian Rogers would “roll over in his grave to see this.” The Bible tells us to not be teamed with the ungodly. Why would we as Southern Baptists join hands with a false religion who wants to kill us … and is killing us already in America and bragging about it? If Planned Parenthood wants to build a church sanctuary, are we going to help them?

With Respect, and In His Service, Steve Cannon

—C.E. Butler, retired Baptist pastor, Lovelady, TX

Southern Baptist TEXAN VOLUME

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Jim Richards, Executive Director

Contributors:

Gary K. Ledbetter, Editor Keith Collier, Managing Editor Tammi Ledbetter, Special Assignments Editor Gayla Sullivan, Circulation Manager Russell Lightner, Layout/Graphic Artist

Rob Collingsworth, JC Davies, Michael Foust, Nathan Lino, Bonnie Pritchett, Erin Roach, Jane Rodgers, Terry Turner

AUGUST

2016

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Skeet Workman Lubbock, Texas

The Southern Baptist Texan is the official newspaper of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, P.O. Box 1988, Grapevine, Texas 76099-1988. Toll-free 877-953-7282, Phone 817-552-2500, FAX 817-552-2520. Email: [email protected]

Letters to the editor should be limited to 250 words and should refrain from personal attacks. Submit by email to [email protected] or mail to the address to the left.

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AUGUST 2016

OPINION

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RACIAL TENSIONS & VIOLENCE IN AMERICA Jim Richards Executive Director

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ith a 24-hour news cycle by the time you read what I’ve written something else may have captured your attention. We cannot let the events of last month be so easily forgotten or swept under the rug. The deaths of two black men at the hands of policemen in Louisiana and Minnesota brought tension across our nation. Just a few days later the targeting and shooting of Dallas policemen, the killing of five of them, raised the tension to tragic heights.

The five Dallas police officers were laid to rest with great honor. These five men whom God describes in Romans 13 as “minister[s] to you for good” will be remembered for their courage. They sacrificed their lives protecting people of all races. We now honor their fellow officers for their continued service. They are God’s servants in the civic realm. Let us strive to be ministers in the spiritual realm of God’s peace and righteousness. The two African-American men who were shot by police will be mourned as well. There is no less heartbreak that these lives were taken. These men were fathers. They left behind loved ones. Their lives were cut short. These men were made

in the image of God. They possessed eternal worth. All people should be respected regardless of color, ethnicity or economic status. Let us work to see Christ’s law of love as a reality. God’s people are bearers of his answer to grief, to racism and to rage. Churches are hosting prayer meetings around the state. Perhaps God can use the tragic deaths of policemen and civilians to drive us to our knees in unity around the cross of Christ and dependence on our merciful God. I think of the SBTC’s “Look Like Heaven” emphasis that was born in the heart of Pastor Terry Turner when he served as our convention president. He saw in his heart that God’s people will be one in purpose and one in love without regard for the

I PRAY THAT THIS SEASON OF PRAYER WILL EMBOLDEN YOU TO SHARE THE GOOD NEWS OF LIFE IN CHRIST EVERYWHERE YOU GO. TRANSFORMED LIVES WILL TRANSFORM COMMUNITIES. external things that try to divide us. May the Lord’s churches look more like heaven even as we pray for that day when we gather around the throne of God. Only at the foot of cross can we find level ground. Our relationships are built on our mutual love for the Lord Jesus. I encourage you to devote yourself to prayer. Our nation is in desperate need of spiritual awakening. We must have

God’s guidance and mercy for all people. I pray that this season of prayer will embolden you to share the good news of life in Christ everywhere you go. Transformed lives will transform communities. God bless you as you minister reconciliation in your congregations and communities in the coming days. It is my great joy to serve alongside you in this eternally significant work.

Reflections on time with gospel warriors in closed countries gether of their entire region of the world is called an Affinity Nathan Lino SBTC President Group Meeting and is rare—the Pastor, Northeast Houston Baptist Church last time it happened was in 2004. Over 1,300 people were present. Security was very high. … And thus I make it my amFor seven days the attendbition to preach the gospel, not ees received spiritual proviwhere Christ has already been sions we consider normal here named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, but as it is writ- in the States. There were daily ten, “Those who have never been worship services led by a welltold of him will see, and those known preacher and a band who have never heard will un- from Kentucky. There were individual counseling and derstand.” Romans 15:20-21 marriage enrichment opporturecently spent a week in nities. There was a children’s Europe at a meeting of camp and one for the teenagsome of our gospel war- ers. There were day-long trainriors who serve on the ing sessions for the workers to front lines in some of the most learn best practices for their difficult closed countries in the specific ministry contexts. Adworld—North Africa-Middle ditionally, about 20 SBC pastors East (NAME). The gathering to- were present.

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One of the many things that really impacted me was the daily worship services. These workers don’t get to worship in groups larger than 10 people or at a volume above a whisper. So when they got in a room with over 1,000 people, in a free country, with a good band, you should have seen them singing! Self-consciousness and personal inhibitions went by the wayside. I think I got a taste of the roar of the Israelites as they finished their seventh lap around the walls of Jericho. The workers sat through hour-long sermons from David Platt writing down every word they could, visibly disappointed when it was over. The prayer times in the worship services were fervent. It was a considerable blessing for me to get to sit in a worship service like that. Along the way I learned several facts that I think our SBTC churches ought to know. As president of the organization, David Platt is prophetically and courageously insisting that all global church plants hold to BFM 2000 theology and ecclesiology. In fact, I’d consider President Platt’s 12 characteristics that define a New Testament church to be a goal worthy of all our stateside churches, including text-driven preaching, meaningful church membership, biblical conversion, and church discipline. I rejoiced listening to him call for biblical precision in church practices, citing the Lord’s Supper as a specific example. Stories of our forefathers in the faith being burned at the stake

AS PRESIDENT OF THE [IMB], DAVID PLATT IS PROPHETICALLY AND COURAGEOUSLY INSISTING THAT ALL GLOBAL CHURCH PLANTS HOLD TO BFM 2000 THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIOLOGY. for opposing transubstantiation have proven to us the necessity of sound doctrine in Christian practice. I left the meetings very confident in the vision and leadership of David Platt. Morale is high. Following the financially driven reduction of the workforce, I was curious to get a sense of the morale among the workers. Don’t get me wrong; tragically, the reduction of workers has impacted many teams and the scope of work that can be done. Teams are still assimilating into the “new normal.” But what was just as clear was the widespread, visible excitement, joy, and optimism. One big example was during the meetings, the workers gave a voluntary, one-time kingdom advancement offering of $193,000! The need for the gospel across this region of the world is still desperate and substantial, yet the opportunities for SBC churches in NAME are great. Unbelievably, there are still 500 Unengaged Unreached People Groups (UUPGs) in NAME alone, not counting UPGs. If you are wondering where to get your church

involved in global gospel advancement, I urge you to consider NAME. Consider creating an escalating ladder of involvement opportunities for your people: A. Focus missions segments in worship services on some NAME people groups; pray and give financially from right here at home. B. Use a worker, home on stateside assignment, to lead a workshop on Islam and engaging Muslims. C. Establish a ministry to NAME peoples in your American city or one nearby. D. Take a group of members on a vision trip to a more open country in NAME. E. Prayerfully seek a partnership in a more open country in NAME. F. Prayerfully seek a partnership in a more difficult country in NAME. As you build the escalating ladder of involvement, urge your people onto it and then lead them to go to the next rung and then the next.

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OPINION

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T E X A N

DO ALL LIVES REALLY MATTER? Terry Turner

Pastor, Mesquite Friendship Baptist Church Former SBTC President

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:7-8). Love in the midst of trauma is the answer to the cry “Do Black Lives Matter?” This question has sent America into one of the most confused race-relationship eras since the Civil Rights movement of the ‘60s. There are many voices speaking out in this racially charged climate, but too many are not inspired with the words of God to bring unity and healing. When America is caught in a racial divide, the body of Christ must impact the world with the love of God for all people. The federal, state or local governments cannot solve hatred within the hearts of people—only the love of God displayed by the people of God can help to change the wickedness in human hearts. God’s people are consistently called to show love in the midst of sinful situations. The Apostle Peter reminds us of the power in love; he says, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). Believers must love those who are difficult for us to love if we are going to make a difference in the lives of lost men and women. Please hear this cry: enough is enough. Christian brothers and sisters, it’s time to put away the biased thinking that keeps us divided and embrace all people in godly love. Our lost world will never change

unless the people of God see the pain of all people groups. Our hearts are broken over the killing of our police officers in Dallas, but we should also have had broken hearts over every black life taken by police over minor offenses, guilty or innocent. To see men die for trivial reasons is despairing in the black community. It is our hope that all Americans will love and respect the law enforcement officers that protect us, but it’s difficult when one group is frequently traumatized by killings. My dear mother would always say, “A right does not wrong anybody,” and, “Baby, God sees those who do ugly.” Amazingly, in America, we have lived so long in our biased world that wrong is not always realized when seen. The people of God must open our eyes, ears and hearts to the lives and struggles of others of different races. Will God hold Christians accountable for loving brothers and sisters who look like themselves or for loving all the human family? “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:20-21). When the love of God is missing, the world becomes a wicked place and we find ourselves asking the tough questions. What is happening in America when Micah Johnson, a 25-year-old black man, takes a gun into Dallas and kills five white police officers in the name of racial hatred? How powerful is racial hatred when a white man, Dylann Roof, walks into a black church prayer meeting in South Caro-

THE FINAL QUESTION CHRISTIANS MUST CONSIDER IS HOW HISTORY WILL RECORD OUR HANDLING OF SIN, HATRED AND RACISM IN PRESENT-DAY AMERICA. WILL THEY SEE US WALKING IN THE POWER OF LOVE FOR HEALING OR YIELDING TO THE WILES OF SATAN THROUGH HATRED, RACISM AND DIVISIVENESS?

lina and kills nine church members after joining them in prayer? What causes a police officer to kill a man over the trivialities of selling cigarettes, selling CD’s on the streets or for a broken taillight? What fear is in the hearts of police officers that causes them to kill a 12-year-old boy playing in the park with a toy gun? The ultimate questions lie with the body of Christ. When will Christians love all people enough to stop the madness in our land? Will the church ever stand up and call those in the body who are divisive in their statements into accountability? We must realize those who love some and not all provide a negative image of the body of Christ. “So Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him’ ” (Acts 10:34-35). All Lives Matter is a call to join in healing of the hurts endured by people from all races. The power of love born in the hearts of the people of God is the only answer for the racial issues that exist in Dallas and America. When the church is committed to live as Jesus commanded, she can teach

the world that the love of God is able to deliver from racial hatred. Yes, all lives matter to born-again Christians who are committed to live by the Word of God. The cry of the protesters from the Black Lives Matter movement is a call for America to see the pain of black Americans who are losing their lives over senseless reasons. This chant does not reduce the importance of white lives, brown lives, red lives or yellow lives— yes, All Lives Matter. There are some in America who say the cry “Black Lives Matter” is not being inclusive of all people groups and is therefore a racial statement. In contrast, the majority of black Americans might consider it offensive to question the fact that black lives matter and think it is racist not to be supportive of the statement. Black lives are a part of “all lives;” therefore, black lives matter. Many Christians are praying for the day when Americans will have no need to recognize the race of a person and we can be truly one race. America has come a long way, but we still have a long way to go if we are going to overcome the dark days of our past. Perhaps, the people who see the Black Lives Matter movement as racist

have forgotten that America, in its infancy, promoted racism and black America has always been its main target. The power of love within Christianity has been a source of healing for many in the black community as proclaimed by the Lord Jesus Christ, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free” (Luke 4:18). This Scripture is key to healing in our country because America termed blacks as chattel slaves and subhuman from 1619 to 1865—black lives did not matter. This way of thinking continued from 1865 until 1965 when black lives in freedom were legally considered second-class citizens under Jim Crow laws, a time when black lives did not matter as much as white lives. Now we are only 51years after the end of the Jim Crow laws, and the residuals of racism are still in the hearts of many in our country. For many whites today, the concept of superiority over blacks is associated with the belief that blacks should be feared or subjected to abuse. The final question Christians must consider is how history will record our handling of sin, hatred and racism in presentday America. Will they see us walking in the power of love for healing or yielding to the wiles of Satan through hatred, racism and divisiveness? We all need each other’s understanding to overcome these perilous times. Let’s be intentional and love everybody, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:1).

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In Mesquite, the hometown of shooter Micah Xavier Johnson, Mesquite Friendship Baptist Church held an “All Lives Matter” community prayer event attended by local pastors and city officials Monday evening, July 11. MFBC pastor and former SBTC president Terry Turner opened with a call not to sweep events “under the carpet,” but to deal with the tragedy “face to face.” Reminding the congregation that the shooter was from their city, Turner affirmed, “that’s not what we are like in the city of Mesquite.” Calling the Black Lives Matter protest “good,” Turner stated that the issue became “a matter of all lives matter” when the officers were killed. The protest was in response to two unrelated incidents in Louisiana and Minnesota where black men were killed by police officers. Turner referenced growing up in the Jim Crow era, saying, “I believe in the Black Lives movement because I’m a black American living in black America. I know what we have to deal with, … what it’s like to be treated like a second-class citizen.” He called for races to love one another in the name of God. “There is greater power in love,” he said. Among the MFBC guests was Mesquite mayor Stan Pinkett, who said, “What’s behind dark clouds is the sun. And I am here to proclaim tonight that we have the Son that we know is also lighting the world.” Applause drowned out Pickett’s remaining words. Another largely AfricanAmerican congregation, Arlington’s Cornerstone Baptist Church hosted Arlington police chief Will Johnson at their two morning services on Sunday, July 10, with 1,400 attending. Johnson participated in a question-and-answer session after the second service. “Our goal was for our people to be safe—s.a.f.e.—and saved,” said pastor Dwight McKissic,

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describing the services titled “Finding Calm in the Chaos: Dallas, Baton Rouge, Minnesota.” In an interview with the TEXAN, McKissic said Johnson was brought in to explain how members of the congregation could avoid becoming victims. McKissic praised Johnson for helping the congregation “understand the mindset of a police person” during tense encounters. “Respect begets respect,” McKissic said. “If the police respect the citizens, then the citizens respect the police, you can greatly reduce the odds of [tragedies] happening.” McKissic spoke on Luke 13 in Sunday’s services, drawing parallels between current events and Jesus’ response to violence. McKissic emphasized that Jesus focused not on fairness or fate but on faith. “‘Except ye repent, ye shall likewise perish.’ Ultimately, Jesus says we are all going to die. … If we die at the hands of a madman, or a tower falling, or citizen brutality, or police brutality, whatever reason we die, we are going to likewise perish.” In the wake of the inevitable, McKissic called upon the congregation to live lives of “repentance and faith” so that they will be prepared. “My goal was to make sure everybody got saved.” Incendiary social media posts and a perceived hostile tone in the community prompted First Baptist Church of Farmersville pastor Bart Barber to contact area pastors to participate in a Sunday night prayer service July 10. “I could see some of the same divisions we see playing out across the country unfolding right here in our town,” Barber said. “I just felt a real obligation that the churches of our community should get out in front of this and bring everyone together.” Some 200 from six churches attended the service at FBC Farmersville. The mayor, city council members, police and fire department representatives, and other first responders also came. Rev. Paul Mack of Mt. Calvary, Farmersville’s largest African-American

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Prestonwood Baptist Church pastor Jack Graham joins retired DPD officer and Prestonwood member Mike Gurley and Texas Rep. Scott Turner to lead the church in prayer for racial healing July 10. PHOTO PROVIDED BY PRESTONWOOD BAPTIST CHURCH

“Our goal was for our people to be safe—-s.a.f.e.—-and saved.” —DW I G H T MCKI S S I C, PA STOR CORN ERSTO N E B A PT I ST CH URCH

“I have seen things calm down and a willingness to see both sides of the story. ... People who walked into that prayer service kind of defensive, walked out of that prayer service smiling and hugging each other.” —B A RT B A RB ER, PA STOR F I RST B A PT I ST CH URCH OF FA RMERSV I L L E

church, attended with his wife and members, Barber said. Every pastor participated in the service, leading in prayer or reading Scripture. The service concluded with small group prayer, with each group including people from other churches. “It was pretty powerful,” Barber noted of the prayer time. “I think that it’s always good when God’s people get together and talk about things and learn about each other’s perspective on things,” said Barber, describing a decrease in community

A woman thanks and shakes the hand of Mesquite Police Capt. David Gill after a community prayer service at Mesquite Friendship Baptist Church, July 11. PHOTO BY GARY LEDBETTER

tension. “I have seen things calm down and a willingness to see both sides of the story. … People who walked into that prayer service kind of defensive, walked out of that prayer service smiling and hugging each other.” Dallas mega-churches also responded to the crisis. The night of the shootings, a team of ministers from First Baptist Church in Dallas, which is located downtown, deployed to Baylor hospital and DPD headquarters. Executive pastor Ben Lovvorn represented the church at an interfaith prayer vigil held the morning of July 8 at Thanksgiving Square. Lovvorn described the event in a FOX news interview: “Pastors of all faiths came to lead our people in prayer, praying for our city, for the Dallas Police Department, for Chief Brown, for unity. “Our prayer is that God will use this tragedy to turn our nation back to him and the ultimate healer, Jesus Christ. … Pastors and churches must lead the way.” Additionally, the church held a prayer gathering in Jeffress Fountain Plaza at 8:45 a.m. Sunday.In Plano, Prestonwood Baptist Church also held a time of prayer during its July 10 morning services. Onstage with Pastor Jack Graham were Mike Gurley, retired DPD officer and Prestonwood member, and State

Representative Scott Turner. Prestonwood also opened its facilities for memorial services for two fallen officers: Sr. Cpl. Lorne Ahrens on July 13 and Officer Michael Krol on July 15. Graham said of the crisis: “Today we pray for those who mourn. We weep with those who weep. We pray to comfort one another and ask God to heal our land and restore our hopes. There is an opportunity to put feet to our prayers and recommit to serving our community and boldly proclaiming the love of Jesus. This is a heart problem, and the only lasting solution is a Savior who died and rose again so that we may be saved. The church must rise up and stand together across America and offer biblical answers to life’s most important questions. We must overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21); to turn on the light and be the light of Jesus in our communities.” Retired pastor and SBTC African-American ministry consultant E.W. McCall lives in Dallas. In an interview with Baptist Press at the Black Church Leadership and Family Conference July 11-15 at Ridgecrest, N.C., McCall said African American Christians must have a plan of action to follow after the talking, marching and grieving over violence end. “I don’t see a strategy,” McCall said. “The only time the system changes for us [minorities] is when it economically impacts the majority community. Martin Luther King was nonviolent, but ... he impacted the economic position of the majority. And once you have that pocket, [the majority begins] to think.” McCall pointed out that blacks must be active in legislatures and Congress to impact lawmaking. After pastors point out injustices, the next step is to strategize to determine how we can change the condition of blacks in society, McCall said. “If you’re ever going to make changes, you’ve got to be at the table where the laws are being written,” McCall said. “If you’re not at the table, you are on the table being carved up and forgotten.”

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MOSQUE-BUILDING SATIRICAL RUMOR EXPOSED AS LIE By Diana Chandler Baptist Press NASHVILLE A rumor promulgated by satirical news-like websites and blogs that the Southern Baptist Convention and at least one cooperating state convention are building Islamic mosques is being exposed as a lie. The self-proclaimed “Christian apocalyptic … news satire and parody site” The End Times wrote perhaps the first posting of the false report as early as May 28 when it claimed the SBC had launched a “Mosques Across America” campaign “to build mosques all across the nation in order to help foster religious tolerance and a general sense of niceness towards all.” As the satire gained momentum, The End Times in a June 16 follow-up proclaimed that “Saddleback pastor Rick Warren, who recently changed his name to Muhammad Hussein Warren in order to help advance the Chrislamic cause and promote his new book, The Purpose-Driven Mosque, had nothing but praise for the new SBC mosque-building initiative.” The satirical posts were reposted as fact and subsequently generated questions to the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee offices, who are clarifying that the posts are indeed lies. “The Southern Baptist Convention promotes planting and building soul-winning Baptist churches that proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ as the one and only means of salvation,” SBC Executive Committee President

“BROTHERS AND SISTERS, IF SOUTHERN BAPTISTS ARE TO BE GUILTY OF GIVING MUSLIMS ANYTHING, MAY WE BE GUILTY OF FREELY AND FREQUENTLY GIVING THEM THE SIN-FORGIVING, LIFE-SAVING, SOUL-AWAKING, HOPE FOUND EXCLUSIVELY IN THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.” — RAN DY DAV I S , E X E C U TI V E D I R E CTO R T E N N E S S E E BA PTI ST CO N V E N TI O N

Frank Page said in a press statement. “Neither the convention nor any of its entities promotes building houses of worship for any other religious group.” The satirical posts were likely a parody based on the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission’s and the International Mission Board’s decision to sign an amicus brief in support of the religious liberty rights of a Muslim community to build a mosque in Bernards Township, N.J., Page said. “This controversy stems from a satirical website that falsely characterized an amicus (friend of the court) brief filed by the convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission as an endorsement of building mosques,” Page said. “Concerned that infringement of the rights of one will affect the rights of all, ERLC President Russell Moore responded to a messenger’s question at the SBC annual meeting that the ERLC brief seeks to defend the right of all religious groups to construct their own houses of

worship, saying that when the religious liberty of one group is assaulted, the religious liberty of all is threatened.” The trumped-up story also generated queries to the Baptist and Reflector, the newsjournal of the Tennessee Baptist Convention, where TBC Executive Director Randy Davis responded in a June 23 editorial. “Neither the Southern Baptist Convention nor the Ten-

nessee Baptist Convention has ever built a mosque and will never build a mosque,” Davis wrote. “However, let me emphatically state that my prayer is that the gospel of Jesus Christ would sweep through the Muslim community in Tennessee and around the world and empty every mosque because those dear people have had an encounter with the living God. Would it

be that every mosque would become a house of worship lifting up the name of Isa (Jesus in Arabic). “Brothers and sisters, if Southern Baptists are to be guilty of giving Muslims anything, may we be guilty of freely and frequently giving them the sin-forgiving, life-saving, soul-awaking, hope found exclusively in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

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COUPLE LEADS CHURCH IN REACHING MUSLIM NEIGHBORS By JC Davies TEXAN Correspondent IRVING

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ive years ago, Grant and Kimberly Goodrich were content serving the local church through youth and children’s ministry, but while participating in an apartment ministry, the couple’s eyes were opened to a people group in their own backyard in desperate need of the gospel.

“We found out we had a large group of Somali refugees that were living in our apartment complex and in the apartment complex next door, probably about 30 families. We didn’t know anything. We didn’t know anything about culture, worldview, traditions, Islam, nothing,” Kimberly said. Though the couple had no background working with Muslims, God soon burdened their hearts for their neighbors, and they saw that the need was greater than they ever realized. Grant and Kimberly began learning from a church planter with the North American Mission Board, who helped the couple understand and practice how to share their faith with their Muslim neighbors. While making weekly home visits to apartment units in their complex, the Goodriches soon met hundreds of Muslims from all over the world. Two short-term trips overseas followed, offering Grant and Kimberly a chance to be immersed in Islamic culture and further softening their hearts for Muslim people. The Goodriches committed their lives to reaching Muslims with the good news of Jesus. Though they were burdened for the millions of unreached Muslims overseas, Grant and Kimberly saw how God also was bringing the unreached to their own community in Texas, so in 2013 the Goodriches began attending MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church in Irving, where they began a Muslim outreach program. Irving is home to thousands of Muslims, Grant said. But despite growing numbers of Muslims, the Goodriches said many in their congregation had never before interacted with someone of the Islamic faith. Early in their ministry at MacArthur, Grant and Kimberly learned that Muslim ministry would be a long-term investment. For Muslim hearts to change, the hearts of church members would first have to change, including laying aside any misconceptions or stigmas about Muslims. “If there’s no transformation of hearts, they will never truly get behind it. They may agree that the

church is to pray when we’re called upon in church to pray for (Muslims), but for it to extend to something we’re regularly doing there has to be consistency,” Grant said. Their ministry began with only a few church members committing to pray alongside them. They now lead a group of MacArthur church members on a prayer walk around their community twice a month and are seeing God change hearts through the simple act of praying together for their Muslim neighbors. “Different people have come, and the amazing thing is even though their heart might be still hard toward the Muslim people group, … it has been so powerful to watch as we’re standing there praying together, the Holy Spirit transform people’s hearts, even in the middle of their prayers,” Grant said. Grant and Kimberly also lead seven-week training sessions for church members who want to learn more about how to effectively engage their Muslim friends, neighbors and coworkers with the gospel. They host weekly roundtable discussions to help answer questions Christians have when faced with opposition to the gospel by their Muslim friends. No matter what steps individuals take, Grant said his desire is that everyone in the church would do something, would take some step toward loving their Muslim neighbors. “Everyone has a place in this. That’s what we want to communicate. No one is exempt. Not everyone has to be called to do this for their life, … but if they can be lead in their hearts to at least pray, at least be willing to consider these people in Christ,” he said. MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church pastor Josh Smith said Grant and Kimberly have been an “invaluable gift” to the church and have equipped the congregation with three major tools—awareness, engagement and training. Prior to the Goodriches arrival, Smith said the congregation had no established ministry geared toward engaging and reaching Muslims in the Irving area.

“They’ve helped take away, I think, some of the fear I know a lot of people have about Muslim people,” Smith said. “People now, particularly in the metroplex, live around Muslim people but don’t have a clue anything about them, don’t get to know them. One of the things I appreciate about Kimberly and Grant is their consistent goal to say, ‘Go get to know a Muslim person.’” Smith said reaching Muslims in their community is the “God-given assignment” of MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church. Currently,

“Gospel conversations flourish in a setting of security and safety, and that’s usually in a home. What we’ve found is there are so many misconceptions, so many wrong ideas about what Christians stand for, what we believe and what is the gospel,” he said. “To have that opportunity to clarify and begin to introduce the gospel or stories from the Bible and what we stand for, it really happens on a one-on-one level in a home where they can trust.” As they help lead the MacArthur congregation in obedience to the Great Commission, Grant and Kimberly also continue to learn more and more about what it looks like to accomplish this goal among Muslims. “What we’ve learned the most is to be patient, loving people and seeing them as a person and a friend and not a project. In church ministry we talk a lot of programs. Everything is program-based. Muslim ministry has no program,” Kimberly said. Though the couple strongly supports international mission work, the Goodriches believe God is providing unique opportunities for the gospel to reach the nations from right here in Texas, and they are committed to remaining here to be part of that work, in hopes of raising up a future generation of believers who will love and share Christ with their Muslim neighbors. “We’re the first generation of the church that’s having to deal with this changing look of America, the change of Texas, but the youth right now are going to grow up and never know life without children of all these other cultures and faith backgrounds in their classrooms at school,” Kimberly said. “So we have to be raising up our children and our youth in a church that stands upon the gospel and that loves other people. That’s the only way, long-term, beyond any of us, for this to be successful.”

“EVERYONE HAS A PLACE IN THIS. ... NO ONE IS EXEMPT. —G RA N T G OODR I C H

an Islamic mosque is being built less than one mile from the church building, serving as a fresh reminder that now, more than ever, Christians in their church need to rise up and engage the thousands of Muslims who share their community. “We’re not just trying to be a multiethnic church. We’re trying to be a church that reflects our community, and our community is one of the most diverse zip codes in America, so we don’t have an option. If we’re going to achieve our God-given assignment and reach our community, we’ve got to figure out how to reach Muslim people,” Smith said. One of the Goodriches’ long-term goals is to have the mosque leaders and attendees know MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church by name and to know its members by the love they show. That goal is being accomplished on a smaller scale as believers begin on a personal level, by intentionally seeking relationships with the Muslim people in their own lives, and by investing time into those relationships. Grant said this most often looks like an individual or couple from the church inviting a Muslim friend or couple into their homes to share a meal and get to know one another.

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SOUTHERN BAPTISTS DIFFER ON HOW TO APPROACH ELECTION PASTORS & POLITICS:

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As the U.S. presidential race heats up and the two less-thanideal major party candidates have been solidified, politics has become a lightning rod issue among Southern Baptists. At the core of the discussion has been whether Christians should apply a “lesser of two evils” approach in the voting booth. During the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in June, pastors and denominational leaders addressed the topic in a number of sessions. Panel Discussion Proclaiming Scripture instead of promoting controversy is their approach when addressing political issues, pastors said during a June 15 panel discussion. In a session titled “Pastors and the Church in American Politics Today” and moderated by Ronnie Floyd, now former SBC president, five Southern Baptist pastors addressed how they handle political issues in their churches, especially during a tumultuous election season that has found many Southern Baptists and other evangelical Christians dismayed at their presidential options. “I do not try to be controversial; I want to be biblical,” said A.B. Vines, senior pastor of New Seasons Church in Spring Valley, Calif., and a past president of the National African American Fellowship (NAAF) of the SBC. “I want to give them the Word of God,” Vines said, adding he teaches the people of New Seasons Church “to trust God in these moments.” David McKinley, pastor of Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, Ga., echoed Vines, saying, “I don’t want to add to the controversy. I want to help people to think biblically.” McKinley seeks to teach “that every one of us—Republican, Democrat, whoever we are—are to come under the authority of Scripture. And I think if we

preach that and teach that, we will be an equal opportunity offender in what we do.” Hance Dilbeck, pastor of Quail Springs Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, said he hears “a lot of disappointment” from church members with their choices for president. “It’s almost like an expression of grief,” he said. “I can see all the five stages, you know, anger and denial and bargaining and depression and acceptance. “[W]hat they’re grieving is at least the loss of perceived cultural dominance, where Biblebelieving people were a majority that could exercise political power and always win the day,” Dilbeck told Floyd. While Americans have “tremendous political tools,” Christians “have so focused on those tools that some of our spiritual muscles have atrophied, and we’ve gotten weak when it comes to prayer and to purity and to proclamation of the gospel,” he said. “[Pastors] have this great opportunity to call our people back to the kind of biblical, spiritual influence that is always going to be our primary influence.” The presumptive presidential nominees—Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump—have prompted some Southern Baptists and evangelicals to declare they can vote for neither major candidate. They find Clinton unacceptable because of her support of abortion rights and government funding of abortion, as well as other liberal policies. They reject Trump based on his inconsistent positions on such issues as abortion, religious liberty and immigration; autocratic inclinations; insult-laden rhetoric; and a lifestyle marked by adultery. Others have supported Trump in the primaries or plan to vote for him in the general election only because of the Democratic alternative, while a much smaller group appears to be prepared to vote for Clinton.

Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas (center) participates in the panel “Pastors and the Church in American Politics Today” during the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in St. Louis on Wednesday, June 15. PHOTO BY BILL BANGHAM

Southern Baptist leaders participate in a wide-ranging panel discussion hosted by Baptist21 coinciding with the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention Tuesday, June 14 in St. Louis. PHOTO BY BILL BANGHAM

Refusing to vote is not an option, said Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas. “You can’t sit this one out. You can’t say, ‘I’m not going to participate.’ The stakes are too high,” said Graham, a former SBC president. “Isn’t it great to know, number one, that God is not in heaven wondering, ‘What am I going to do with Donald or Hillary?,’” he said, adding, however, Christians are responsible to act in the election. “[W]e simply must not abdicate our responsibility to pray, to participate, to vote and, as pastors and leaders in our churches, to encourage others to do the same.” He is focusing on three primary considerations in determining how to vote in this presidential election, Graham said: (1) A candidate who will seek God’s wisdom in making Supreme Court nominations; (2) someone who will support the sanctity of human life; and (3) a person who will defend religious liberty. K. Marshall Williams, pastor of Nazarene Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Pa., and another former NAAF president, said the church needs to be “passionately praying” for those in authority. Also, he said, Christians should “maintain a collective, incarnational, redemptive presence in the church and in the culture.” The church should not only address such issues as the sanctity of life and religious freedom, but “attack systemic racism and injustice in our land,” Williams said, and “be concerned about the pipeline from school to prison, that one out of every three African-American men are tied to the criminal justice system.” All five pastors encouraged Christians to run for local offices. Williams prays God “would raise up men and women to go into public office of moral courage,” he said. Floyd opened the session by encouraging pastors and other Christian leaders not to be judgmental of one another during

this election season. “Disagreement does not have to result in a strained relationship with a brother or sister in Christ, especially over politics,” he said. 9Marks & ERLC The “moral formation” and unity of the church are two vital considerations for a pastor in guiding God’s people during a disturbing presidential election season, attendees were told during a June 13 event sponsored by 9Marks, a church health ministry based in Washington, D.C., and the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. 9Marks President Mark Dever and ERLC President Russell Moore answered questions about pastors and politics. Moore said his primary concern when a church member asks a pastor how to vote “is going to be for the moral formation of my people.” In this election, Moore said he thinks “there would be a very clear difference between someone who is simply walking into the voting booth and saying, ‘Let me try to decide between these two train wrecks,’ which I know a lot of people are doing, and what is happening in the moral degradation of many people supporting both of these two candidates and in so doing not only excusing clear injustice and immorality but, as Romans 1 would put it, heartily approving of that. “The issue for me is not what happens to those two horrific candidates debating back and forth,” he said. “The issue for me is what happens to us.” As a pastor, Dever said he would be concerned if he has “someone loudly in our church saying, ‘Morally, you cannot do this or that.’” That “feels like Satan’s device to divide the church,” said Dever, pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. “The way that I’ve heard evangelicals articulate support for a wide variety of political options to attain good ends, I may disagree with all of them that I hear. I may even think some of them involve sin,” but he

wouldn’t prevent that person from taking communion. Rather, he would try to understand what moral issues a church member can see are at stake in his or her vote, Dever told the audience. Baptist 21 Luncheon The issue was also addressed during the eighth annual Baptist 21 luncheon June 14, where Moore and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr. responded to questions regarding the 2016 presidential election. Both said they would vote third-party or write in a candidate in November. Mohler noted that while he cannot vote for a pro-choice candidate, he also cannot vote for a candidate simply on pro-life claims because “character is an indispensable issue.” Mohler recalled first meeting former President Bill Clinton hours after appearing on national TV calling on him to resign during the scandal involving Monica Lewinsky. Mohler said he could not be consistent if he voted for Republican nominee Donald Trump, whose character “eclipses” Clinton with his unrepentant adultery and support of the pornography industry. “I find myself in a situation I never envisioned in my life as a Christian or as an American,” Mohler said. “But I’m going to have to be Christian in order to be a faithful American.” Moore explained his reason for writing in a candidate because “character matters” and “the life issue cannot flourish in a culture of misogyny and sexual degradation ... when you have people calling for the torture and murder of innocent non-combatants.” “You lose an election, you can live to fight another today and move one,” Moore said. “But if you lose an election while giving up your very soul, then you’ve really lost it all.” —compiled from Baptist Press reports by Diana Chandler, Harper McKay, S. Craig Sanders and Tom Strode

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Drivers hear the gospel, receive ministry at truck stop chapel By Bonnie Pritchett TEXAN Correspondent

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ith more than 3 million truck drivers in the U.S., reaching them with the gospel is like hitting a moving target. But forced by either the laws of man or the call of nature, truck drivers have to stop sometime. Those who stop at the Pilot Flying J truck stop in New Caney will meet Don DeSimone, who is quick with a “Hi! How are you? It’s good to see you.”

Just by his presence every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at the Pilot Flying J truck stop at US Hwy 59 and Hwy 242, DeSimone begins the conversations that lead to discussions of eternal significance. Those opportunities have multiplied in the two years The Church at 242 has partnered with Transport for Christ International, a ministry reaching truckers in North America, Russia, Zambia and Brazil with the gospel. Established in 1951 TFC was as mobile as the people it sought to reach. A converted tractor trailer served as a chapel and truck stops became temporary way

5 TFC@242 director of chaplains Don DeSimone, David Parish, Dennis Paris greet truck drivers as they walk around the Pilot Flying J truck stop in New Caney. PHOTO BY BONNIE PRITCHETT

4Construction of the trailer that will be delivered to New Caney as a permanent chapel is still underway. The chapel will seat about 20 people and will have central air conditioning and heating. PHOTO BY BONNIE PRITCHETT

stations. Sixty-five years later, TFC has chaplains and permanent chapels at truck stops in 45 U.S. states and around the world. One of the newest chapels will be delivered in September to the Pilot Flying J truck stop, where it will blend in with the 150-170 tractor-trailers parked in the back lot each night. The Pennsylvania-based ministry transforms a tractor trailer into a meeting space that will seat about 20 people. The New Caney unit will be the first with central air conditioning and heating. For The Church at 242, the permanent chapel is an answer to years of prayer and a means for advancing the two-year old ministry that has seen at least three people come to faith in Christ. The truck stop’s media room currently serves as a chapel for Sunday morning services. About 20 years ago, Dennis Parish, pastor of The Church at 242, watched the truck stop being built and prayed God would establish a ministry for

the sojourners who stop there. Unbeknownst to him, DeSimone, a retired air freight sales representative owner and member of the church, felt called to minister to the trucking community. They said the Holy Spirit led them, along with Parish’s son, David, minister of music at Magnolia Baptist Church, to partner with TFC. The creation of TFC@242 marks the first time a church—Parish’s congregation—has partnered with the ministry. The church and a growing network of likeminded churches and individuals took on the challenge of raising the $20,000 necessary to build, transport and set up the chapel. Once in place, a chaplain will be on duty 24/7 and the chapel will never close. The ease with which they gained access to the location only confirmed their calling. David Peake, Pilot Flying J general manager, recognized the venture as a win-win situation. As a Christian he heartily welcomed the opportunity to offer Christian ministry to the drivers. As a business manager he recognized the benefit of partnering with an organization that had a vested interest in the safety and well-being of his customers. Hoping to expedite the weeks-long process of gaining corporate approval for the establishment of an on-site TFC ministry and chapel, Peake wrote to corporate headquarters asking for approval. Within 24 hours it was granted. From this way station on US 59—a major trucking highway connecting

Mexico and Canada—the TFC@242 chaplains have met people from 42 states and five countries. The TFC mission statement—“Leading truck drivers as well as the trucking community to Jesus Christ and helping them grow in their faith”—is exemplified by the chaplains. Walking through the snack foods aisles and the laundry and shower facilities, DeSimone greets employees by name. He knows their stories. They know he cares. A friend of one of the employees is on the verge of making a profession of faith, he said. He’s ministered to a variety of people, including a trucker crushed by his infidelity to his wife; a husband and wife whose truck is their livelihood and, sometimes, the source of their marital struggles; and a driver from Buffalo, NY, who feared losing his relationship with his 16-year-old son. DeSimone prayed with them all and encouraged them with a word from God. He remains in contact—a key element of the TFC ministry. The world is stopping at the Pilot Flying J truck stop in New Caney and a growing list of chaplains have enlisted to minister to them. Even as this way station is being equipped for gospel ministry, the TFC@242 ministry team plans to locate four more chapels across the state. “This is their oasis,” Dennis Parish said. “They’re hungry, tired.” Faith in Christ, the chaplains said, gives the truckers hope for the road ahead.

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BRIEFS Russian law restricts evangelism

A Russian law that places significant limits on Christian evangelism has drawn opposition from the International Mission Board, U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse and a New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary professor, among others. Passed by both houses of Russia’s parliament in June and signed by President Vladimir Putin in July, the bill has been called “a step toward an Iron Curtain” by an opposition leader, the Los Angeles Times reported. According to Christianity Today, the measure requires citizens who wish to share their faith obtain government permits and only do evangelism in church buildings and at other religious sites. Online evangelism and witnessing in a private residence both would be restricted. Foreign visitors who violate the law could face deportation. Individual Russian violators could face fines of up to U.S. $780, with groups fined up to $15,500. from bpnews.net

Gender identity law takes aim at Iowa churches Two Iowa churches say the Iowa Civil Rights Commission’s interpretation

of a state civil rights law could force them to open restrooms to members of the opposite sex and inhibit their ability to teach biblical truth about gender. One of the churches, Fort Des Moines Church of Christ in Des Moines, filed a lawsuit in federal court July 4. The other, Cornerstone World Outreach in Sioux City, sent a demand letter to the Iowa Civil Rights Commission July 5 asking the Commission to amend its policy regarding churches and gender identity discrimination. At issue is an undated brochure published by the Commission, which states churches must “sometimes” permit locker room and restroom access based on self-perceived gender identity rather than biological sex. The brochure, titled “Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity,” explains, “Iowa law provides that these [antidiscrimination] protections do not apply to religious institutions with respect to any religion-based qualifications when such qualifications are related to a bona fide religious purpose. Where qualifications are not related to a bona fide religious purpose, churches are still subject to the law’s provisions. (e.g., a child care facility operated at a church or a church service open to the public).” from bpnews.net

South Carolina megachurch pastor Perry Noble fired for alcohol abuse NewSpring Church, a multi-campus megachurch based in Anderson, S.C., announced Sunday that the

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church’s board of directors fired pastor Perry Noble for alcoholism, his “posture toward his marriage,” and other “unfortunate” choices. Noble served as pastor of the Southern Baptist Convention–affiliated church since its founding in 2000. The church has since grown to 17 campuses and 30,000 members statewide Duffy told the congregation the firing was a “difficult and painful decision,” but added that Noble was “no longer qualified to serve as pastor” and was under psychiatric care. Duffy noted that church leadership had confronted Noble on several occasions about his abuse of alcohol and his “posture toward his marriage.” Duffy then read a statement from Noble, who was not in attendance, in which the former pastor apologized for his actions, admitting his “obsession to do everything possible to reach 100,000 and beyond has come at a personal cost to my own life and created a strain on my marriage.” In his announcement, Duffy declined to explain the details of Noble’s other poor lifestyle decisions for the sake of the family’s privacy, but Noble, in his statement, noted the undisclosed vices did not include domestic abuse, theft, a relapse into a former porn addiction, or other sexual sins. NewSpring has clashed with the Southern Baptist Convention and other evangelicals over the years for theological reasons. from WORLD magazine

CP 5.22% above projection at fiscal year three-quarter mark Year-to-date contributions to Southern Baptist Convention national and international missions and ministries received by the SBC Executive Committee are 5.22 percent above the year-to-date SBC Cooperative Program Allocation Budget projection, and are 2.88 percent above contributions received during the same time frame last year, according to a news release from SBC Executive Committee President Frank S. Page.

Replica of Noah’s Ark opens to public Thousands of supporters and media descended on the rural town of Williamstown, Ky., in early July for the ribbon cutting of a life-sized replica of Noah’s Ark. It is the centerpiece of the Ark Encounter theme park, which also features a petting zoo, restaurant and zip lines. Inside the ark, three decks are packed with exhibits. It was built by the apologetics ministry Answers in Genesis. Answers in Genesis also

ChristianMingle.com agrees to open site to gays, lesbians The online matchmaking service ChristianMingle. com now must now provide services to connect gays and lesbians, following a settlement approved by a California state judge. Two gay men had sued the parent company, Spark Networks Inc., after they found no options for connecting with other gay men who claim to be Christian. They claimed

The year-to-date total represents money received by the Executive Committee by the close of the last business day of June and includes receipts from state conventions, churches and individuals for distribution according to the 2015-16 SBC Cooperative Program Allocation Budget. from bpnews.net

Jeffress, Graham, Floyd, others are new Trump advisers Immediate past Southern Baptist Convention President Ronnie Floyd and Texas pastors Robert Jeffress and Jack Graham are among a diverse group of evangelicals Donald Trump named June 21 to advise him on religion and politics. Trump’s 25-member Evangelical Executive Advisory Board includes at least eight Southern Baptists. They were among more than 1,000 conservative faith leaders who attended a June 21 invitation-only questionand-answer session with Trump and Ben Carson in New York, hosted by United in Purpose and My Faith Votes, and moderated by former U.S. presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. A document made it clear that members of the board aren’t necessarily endorsing Trump, although Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, has supported Trump for months. Graham is pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas

operates the Creation Museum in nearby Petersburg. Visitors can see animatronic figures of Noah and his family, as well as cages containing detailed animal replicas, including dinosaurs, that Answers in Genesis President Ken Ham believes would have been present on the ark. Based on dimensions given to Noah in the Bible, the ark stands at a staggering 510 feet long, 85 feet wide and 51 feet high— believed to be the largest timber frame structure on the planet. Answers in Genesis President Ken Ham has been unapologetic about his real motive for building the structure. “I believe this is going to be one of the greatest Christian

the lack of service for gay and lesbian couples violated the California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act, which requires “business establishments” to offer equal services to clients regardless of their sexual orientation. The company will pay each plaintiff in the case $9,000 and reimburse nearly $500,000 in attorney’s fees. from ChristianExaminer.com

Other Southern Baptists on the executive advisory board are David Jeremiah, pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church, El Cajon, Calif.; Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University; former ERLC President Richard Land, current president of Southern Evangelical Seminary; James MacDonald, founder and senior pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago, and Jay Strack, president of Student Leadership University. from bpnews.net

California bill targets freedom of Christian colleges A California legislative committee passed a bill June 30 that would subject Christian colleges to regulations forbidding them to act on their religious tenets if their students receive state grants to support their studies. SB 1146 “could destroy the ability of numerous faith-based colleges and universities to pursue the mission for which they were created,” warned Ed Stetzer, the executive director of Wheaton College’s Billy Graham Center for Evangelism, in a blog post. Asuza Pacific University president Jon R. Wallace said the bill “significantly reduces religious freedom” and “would effectively eliminate faith-based institutions as a choice for California’s most disadvantaged students.” from ChristianityToday.com

outreaches of this era in history,” said Ham, who expects 2 million visitors the first year. “We built it as a reminder for people that the flood really happened and that God’s Word really is true.” Ham is a vocal supporter of young-earth creationism, which is the belief that Earth is several thousand years old. On July 8, Ham gave a personal tour of the Ark exhibit to evolutionist Bill Nye, “the Science Guy,” and a camera crew. The two debated opposing worldviews on creation in 2014, and Ham noted following Nye’s Ark visit that the two re-engaged in “passionate discussion” during the tour. from bpnews.net

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STRACHAN STEPS DOWN AS PRESIDENT OF CBMW By Keith Collier Managing Editor LOUISVILLE, Ky. The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood announced on its website July 12 that Owen Strachan had resigned as president of the organization. He had served in the position since 2014 following two years as CBMW’s executive director. Strachan, who also serves as associate professor of Christian theology and director of the Center for Theological and Cultural Engagement at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, explained his reasons for stepping down on his blog July 12. “I first started thinking over my role a year ago,” Strachan said. “The responsibilities of full-time leadership and a professorship at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary were not small.

CHURCH POSITIONS PASTOR u Center Hill BC is seeking a FT pastor. Submit resume to [email protected] or Center Hill Baptist Church, PO Box 190, Oakhurst, TX 77359. Experience is required. Candidates must not be divorced and remarried. u FBC Spurger is seeking a FT senior pastor. FBC is a rural church with an avg worship attendance of 145. Parsonage is included. Please submit resumes to [email protected] or to FBC Spurger, Attn: Pastor Search Team, PO Box 89, Spurger, TX 77660. u Community BC in Eldorado is seeking a bivocational or FT pastor. The church is a small West Texas church with a very good church plant and is debt-free. Send resume to Randy Mankin at PO Box 878 Eldorado, TX 76936 MUSIC u FBC of Linden, aligned with the SBTC, is seeking a FT minister of worship. Responsibilities include adult choir, praise band, youth choir and praise band, and coordinating children’s graded choirs. Interested individuals may email a resume to [email protected], Pastor Jackie Stanfield. u Highland Park BC, Bartlesville, OK, a conservative, reformed Southern Baptist Church, is seeking a FT worship pastor to lead in a blended worship style service. Preferred abilities include choir conducting and media skills. Visit

Fundraising in particular is a preoccupation for most any non-profit leader. My goal was to leave CBMW in a strong financial position, which meant putting on our April 2016 ToOwen Strachan gether for the Gospel pre-conference. By God’s grace, that event was a success. This meant that I could step down in good conscience.” CBMW praised Strachan’s leadership and the growth experienced by the organization under his direction. The statement also explained that Strachan will serve CBMW as a senior fellow. Board member and CBMW co-founder Wayne Grudem said, “Owen has served as an excellent president for CBMW, and

the organization has grown remarkably in influence through his leadership.” “I’m sorry to see him leave the presidency of CBMW, but I am glad to know that he will continue associating with CBMW as a senior fellow, and I fully expect that we will continue to see additional valuable contributions from his writing and speaking on issues of biblical manhood and womanhood.” A theological debate this summer regarding the relationship between God the Father and God the Son—a debate that has included criticism of CBMW— “played no part” in Strachan’s decision to resign, he told Baptist Press in an email. “The summer of 2016 has been surprisingly active in terms of theological debate, but the online discussion has played no part in my decision,” Strachan said, noting, “My decision was made months ago.”

At issue in the debate is the argument of Strachan and other theologians—including Grudem and Bruce Ware of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary—that God the Father and God the Son eternally have been equal in divinity but that the Son eternally has submitted to the Father. Strachan articulated that view in his 2016 book The Grand Design, coauthored with Gavin Peacock, and defended it in subsequent blog posts. Strachan and other proponents of this view additionally argue that the “authority-submission dynamic” within the Trinity illustrates the proper relationship between a husband and wife: possessing different roles but equal in value. CBMW’s statement said the organization will “name its next president in a forthcoming announcement in the next few weeks.”

our website at highlandparkbaptist.net. Email resume to: [email protected]. u FBC Hico seeks bi-vocational worship leader to oversee choir, worship team, in blended style service. Must have flexible availability. Contact Jim Felty, 254-485-0287 or FBC @ 254-7964238, [email protected].

minimum) and experience (at least three years full-time). Over 100 students are waiting for you. Send resumes to [email protected]. u Kirkwood Church, Houston, is seeking a FT student pastor to work with high school and college students. Contact Pastor David Mai 281495-7783 or email resume to davidmai_79201@ yahoo.com. u Webb BC in Arlington is searching for a PT youth minister. Located in the heart of the DFW metroplex. Resumes or questions can be sent to [email protected].

OTHER u Sagamore BC, Fort Worth, is seeking a PT pianist, as well as a soprano and tenor vocalists in order to strengthen choir. Contact Philip at 817-939-7222. u FBC Uvalde, a Southern Baptist Church, is seeking a FT associate pastor to lead worship in a blended worship style service. This position also includes some pastoral, administrative, and senior adult responsibilities. Visit our website at fbcuvalde.com. Email resume to: personnel@ fbcuvalde.com.

CHILDREN u Maplewood Baptist Fellowship is seeking a bi-vocational children’s minister. Please send resumes to [email protected].

ANNOUNCEMENTS u Toby Irwin celebrated his 10th anniversary as pastor of Belmore BC, San Angelo, on June 3.

COMBINATION u FBC Lakeside City is seeking a PT youth and children’s pastor for a rapidly growing church. As the church grows, this position will eventually be full-time. YOUTH u FBC Prosper is searching for a FT youth pastor to oversee the total youth ministry with hands-on leadership of the senior high ministry. The ideal candidate is a self-starter, a disciple-maker, a missions-advocate, and a leader. Send cover letters and resumes to [email protected] by August 15. u College BC, Big Spring, is seeking a FT youth minister. Please send resumes to cbc1957@ suddenlinkmail.com. u FBC Newton is seeking a FT youth pastor. Please contact Pastor Dean Ferguson at 409-379-3381 or email resumes to pastor@ newtonfbc.com. u Indiana Ave BC in Lubbock is seeking a FT minister of youth. The qualified candidate will need both education (Bachelor’s degree

PAID CLASSIFIEDS u CAREER OPPORTUNITY Immediate earning potential. Be part of the rapidly-growing precious metals industry. Free training and ongoing support. Work from home. Rapidly growing international company. 888-644-4408. Call NOW! u CUSTOM SCREEN-PRINTED T-SHIRTS FOR CHURCHES Great prices and free shipping across the state! Small and large orders welcome. Printed by Christian owned and operated business. Call Southeast Texas Printing Co. 409-622-2197.

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TEXAS STUDENT WINS NATIONAL BIBLE DRILL By Jane Rodgers

Bible Drill and Speakers’ Tournament

TEXAN Correspondent

Brian Beto of Esperanza Del Rio Community Church emerged victorious in a drill-off to determine the winner of the high school division at the National Invitational Tournament for Bible Drill held at First Baptist Church in Colleyville on June 16-17. The Friday evening drill-off concluded this year’s National Invitational Tournament for Bible Drill and Speakers’ Tournament attended by some 200 participants and families from across the country and hosted by the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. The tension-filled drill-off was held at the banquet the evening of the competition, said Emily Smith, SBTC associate over women’s and children’s ministries. Smith, with representatives from three other state conventions, served on the NIT planning team. Bible Drill has long been a staple of Southern Baptist churches, with associations and state conventions holding competitions. Children grades 4-6 participate in the Children’s Drill. Young people in grades 7-9 take part in the Youth Drill, while older teens, grades 10-12, compete in the High School Drill and Speakers’ Tournament. COLLEYVILLE

Youth Bible Drill State Winners 1st Place: Janice Beto, Esperanza Del Rio Community Church; 2nd Place: Kole Tatum, Bethany Baptist Church; 3rd Place: tie—Lilly Parker, Prestonwood Baptist Church & Elisabeth Thomas, First Baptist Church Euless. High School Bible Drill State Winners 1st Place: Brian Beto, Esperanza Del Rio Community Church; 2nd Place: Braden Samuels, First Baptist Church Stinton; 3rd Place: Andres Mena, Esperanza Del Rio Community Church. Speakers Tournament State Winners 1st Place: Kailyn Newson, Cornerstone BC; 2nd Place: Monique Allman, Cornerstone BC; 3rd Place: Alan Njomo, Tate Springs BC.

Brian Beto of Esperanza Del Rio Community Church (right) stands with SBTC church ministries associate Emily Smith after winning the high school division at the National Invitational Tournament for Bible Drill June 16-17. PHOTO BY NEIL WILLIAMS

Only youth and high school competitors advance to state and national levels. The children’s competition terminates at the regional level. SBTC began sponsoring Bible Drill competitions in 2002. Since the Baptist General Convention of Texas also holds competitions, nationals featured two teams from Texas. This year, Beto defeated the BGCT national finalist in the drill-off. Bible Drill requires students to memorize Scripture and locate Bible passages. Competition is intense as a caller issues a command and students

have only eight seconds to locate chapter and verse in their Bibles. Contestants must earn certain scores at their local association or church level to qualify for regionals. In the Speakers’ Tournament, students prepare and deliver 4-6 minute talks on assigned topics. “It’s very impressive,” Smith said. “It’s exciting, and it will put you to shame to see how much the kids know.” At the regional level, 270 students representing 38 churches participated. State finals were held April 30 at the SBTC offices in Grapevine, where they

have taken place 14 of the last 15 years. Bible Drill participation runs in families. Brian Beto has gone to nationals in both youth and high school divisions, while his sister Janice won the SBTC state youth drill competition two years in a row and placed second at nationals in 2015. Anna Moreno, Bible Drill sponsor at Bethany Baptist Church in Breckenridge, is a veteran winner of both drill and speaker competitions at the regional and state levels. “My mother is a huge proponent of Bible Drill,” said Moreno. Moreno’s mother, Tami Wood, a children’s minister often invited to call drills at competitions, helped start the program at Bethany. When Moreno and her husband, Bethany’s associate pastor of youth and family, came to the church nine years ago, Anna

volunteered to coach Bible Drill, with impressive results. When asked about the value of Bible Drill, Moreno said, “Memorizing Scripture and hiding God’s Word in your heart will never return void. It encourages children in a fun way to learn Scripture. I have found personally that a lot of those scriptures I learned as a child come back to me. Besides, I just loved the competition.” SBTC awards college scholarships to those placing first ($1,000), second ($500) and third ($250) at the state level in the youth, high school and speakers’ competitions. For more information and published results of SBTC regional and state competitions, see sbtexas.com/bibledrill. For an expanded article, photos and a list of the children’s division perfect scorers, visit texanonline.net/archives/5376.

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CRISWELL COLLEGE ANNOUNCES $1M GIFT, ESTABLISHES SCHOLARSHIP ENDOWMENT By Rob Collingsworth Criswell College DALLAS Criswell College president Barry Creamer announced today a gift of $1 million from the estate of Barbara F. Marshall, a long-time supporter of the college. In conjunction with the Southern Baptists of Texas Foundation, the funds will establish the C. Frank and Barbara F. Marshall Scholarship Fund as an endowment to benefit and assist students seeking education at Criswell College. “The assets and resources which put Criswell College in such a strong position today have come primarily from the generosity of families and individuals just like Barbara Marshall,” Creamer said. Marshall and her husband, who died in 2000, were longtime members of First Baptist Church of Dallas and active

members in the Sunday School class taught by Criswell theology professor R. Alan Barbara F. Marshall Streett Sr. “Such estate giving not only bears immediate fruit, as it has here impacting the college, the denomination, and countless churches, but also continues to bear that fruit indefinitely— something especially important to Criswell as we expand to produce Christian leaders who can transform the culture,” Creamer added. The living trust established by Marshall places provisions on the gift that assign general guidelines in regard to its use. Funds must be disbursed out of the endowment’s interest and may only be awarded to current, full-time students

who possess an exceptional commitment to preaching and demonstrate a need for financial assistance. The Marshall gift is a major step forward as Criswell

moves to eliminate federal funding as a means of paying for college, removing some of the burdens caused by threats to religious liberty. The school’s Title IX

exemption request, which would free Criswell from governmental regulations on matters such as transgender bathroom access, is currently under review.

Criswell announces new VP of advancement By Rob Collingsworth Criswell College DALLAS After an extended search, Criswell College announced the hiring of Michael Clayton as the new vice president of advancement, effective July 1. A Dallas native, Clayton received his undergraduate degree from Dallas Baptist University and pursued theological education at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth as well as Luther Rice Seminary. Over the course of his career he spent 15 years as pres-

ident of the S o ut h e a s t Texas Better Business Bureau and more than Michael Clayton 20 years serving local churches in administrative and pastoral roles. For the last four years Clayton has addressed audiences across the world as a keynote speaker, corporate trainer, and as a business consultant to numerous clients including State Farm, Coldwell Banker, and the U.S.

Department of the Treasury. “It is an honor to serve Criswell College to advance its mission to engage minds and transform culture through the power of God’s Word and his leadership,” Clayton said. As vice president of advancement, Clayton will oversee the Departments of External Relations and Development. He will also lead efforts to secure financial support for the school through development of the annual fund, coordination of major gifts and management of estate planning.