
The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-02/14/2005

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Youth ministry with a passion seeks to capture teens’ attention
by Kay Adkins
Date: February 14, 2005 - Monday

<i>EDITORS’ NOTE: The following two stories are part of an ongoing Baptist Press series to explore and describe how individuals, churches, associations and conventions exhibit a passion for Christ and His Kingdom.</i>


LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (BP)--When Randy Brantley realized that 95 percent of youth attending Arkansas Baptists’ annual youth evangelism conference were already saved, he decided there must be a better way to reach lost students.

Brantley, who has worked with youth since 1985 and as student evangelism director for the Arkansas Baptist State Convention since 1989, began to sense God stirring his heart a new outlook in 1998.

“We found that there are lots of kids ready to hear the Gospel if it is presented in a culturally relevant way,” he said. “So much of what we do in the local church is designed for kids that speak the language of Zion. We’ve asked, ‘What does it take to capture the attention of lost teens? How do we bridge the gap?’”

And the idea for Real Encounter Youth Crusades began to take shape. Through a partnership with Brad Bennett of Real Ministries, Brantley and the state convention have embarked on a way to bridge that gap.

Real Encounter Youth Crusades incorporates extreme sports, drama, a band and hi-tech video and lighting to capture the attention and curiosity of lost teens. In school assemblies, the Real Encounter team will use humorous dramas, videos and music that resonate with teen issues, and freestyle motorcycle stunts to present a character-based message. They address topics like bullying, positive attitudes, personal integrity, goal-setting and encouragement -- and the positive difference that even one person can make.

Students are invited to attend the crusade’s large-scale extreme sports events over the next two evenings. The gatherings are held in locations like a school gym, stadium or parking lot, or at the county fairgrounds, rather than at a church where unchurched teens might be reluctant to go.

“We’re capturing their attention in a way they don’t expect church to try to capture it,” Brantley said. “We’re attracting a group of young people who don’t have a clue about church or they have misconceptions.” On average, 50 percent of the student body will turn out for the featured evening events.

In 2004, the ABSC conducted Real Encounter Youth Crusades in six small- to mid-sized communities and registered 594 salvation decisions, 618 renewed commitments and 47 commitments to ministry. The final 2004 event took place in Clinton, Ark., a town of fewer than 3,000 residents. More than 500 attended each night’s event held on the county fairgrounds, with more than 100 people turned away the second night due to lack of space.

Heath Clower, youth pastor at First Baptist in Clinton, said that the crusade was one of the best outreach initiatives he has been a part of. “It isn’t just another gig for them,” Clower said of the partnership between Brantley and the ABSC and Real Ministries. “If you follow along with the plans, it is very effective. … They were concerned with our event -- that things went well. They asked questions about what kind of group they’d be speaking to and ways to be effective.”

“Students will come to hear what you have to say,” Brantley said, “when you prove that you are credible and have a message worth listening to. The genius of Real Encounter is that we take the Gospel of Jesus out of the church and into the streets where youth feel comfortable. We present a professional extreme sports stunt show and then with the same level of excellence invite the students to experience the Gospel through music, drama and the preaching of God’s Word.”

Brantley believes that while churches today are hungry to reach lost youth, they are also scared of them. Yet he also believes that whoever loves them first will reach them.

However, the biggest challenge is helping the traditional church understand how to establish a relationship with secular-minded students, and then to have patience to disciple them to become fully devoted followers of Christ, Brantley said. “Many Christians want the discipleship process to be nice and clean, but the reality of reaching today’s unchurched youth is that it is uncertain and messy,” he said.

Part of Real Encounter is training youth and adults to counsel and encourage teens interested in exploring a relationship with Jesus Christ. Their goal is to train at least 50 adults in every community to counsel teens, but they often train as many as 100. “When a community begins to have heart trouble for teens, God seems to raise up people to meet the need,” said Brantley, who conducts the training about four weeks prior to the crusade. 

Since the first crusade in 2000, 1,535 people have been trained to share the Gospel and be “encouragers” to the teens who respond to the Crusade invitation to turn to Christ. “Sometimes it’s difficult to motivate adults to learn to share their faith,” Brantley said, “but this gives people a reason to be trained. We show them how they can be a relational bridge between a lost teenager and a local church.”

Four to six months of preparation precede each crusade, with Brantley being the first contact that a Southern Baptist church in Arkansas would make to schedule a Real Encounter. The state convention requires the sponsorship of three or four local churches, and Brantley’s first task is to meet with pastors and youth pastors to cast the vision for the outreach.

Should they decide to schedule a crusade, the convention provides $3,000 toward the estimated $8,000 total cost, with the remainder to be raised by the sponsoring churches. The cost estimate includes honorariums for the three independent ministries that make up the Real Encounter ministry team: Real Ministries, Clear Vision Drama Company and a Christian band, plus travel, sound and lighting equipment rental, space rental and an optional pizza blast or tailgate party.

Brantley also works with the sponsoring churches to put together steering committees and helps them work together. “It isn’t uncommon to see Baptists, Methodists, Assemblies of God all work together to see lost kids won to the Lord,” he said. The state convention’s policy is to work through Southern Baptist churches, but that the decision about other sponsoring churches is made locally.

Detailed material is provided to guide various steering committees to contribute to the success of the event. Teams are formed from the sponsoring churches to cover areas like finance, publicity, school assemblies, event coordination, prayer and counseling. 

The state convention takes follow-up seriously, with a plan in place. “We don’t believe in just reaching them, but also connecting them to a church,” Brantley said. “Evangelism isn’t complete until a student gets into a discipling relationship with a local church.”

Master lists of all of the decision records are distributed to the sponsoring churches. Youth pastors are encouraged to take their lists to their youth groups and pray specifically for the names on their lists. They involve youth in the follow-up by having them get with the students on the list whom they know and ask the question, “Have you told your pastor about your decision at Real Encounter?” If the answer is “I don’t have a pastor,” then the door is opened to invite that person to church. 

Also, the decision list might be divided among the sponsoring churches according to the address proximity to the church. Then the local volunteers who counseled students at the crusade are requested to follow up by phone or mail within 48 hours of the event. “Follow-up must be intentional, or it won’t take place,” Brantley said.

A month after his community’s Real Encounter event, Bill Newton, youth pastor of Lonoke Baptist Church, said, “The fruit of the Real Encounter is having a ripple effect on our churches. As we are going out to follow up on the youth that we reached through the crusade, we are finding families that need to be reached.”

Brantley told of a woman and her husband at one of the events who served as counselors, or “encouragers,” and were able to lead two young people each to the Lord. In tears she told Brantley, “I hated the music, but I love what God has done. I honestly thought we had won all the kids we could. When I saw hundreds raise their hands, I realized we have only scratched the surface.”

Wishing he could take that “dear woman” and her testimony with him everywhere, Brantley stated, “God has his hand on Real Encounter. We’re amazed that there are so many lost kids in our state. But when you have adults with broken hearts for youth, kids can be saved.”
--30--



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Motorcycle, drama & music prepare teens for Christian faith
by Kay Adkins
Date: February 14, 2005 - Monday

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (BP)--How do you reach them?

They may be teens who haven’t had a religious upbringing. Teens who think churchgoers lead boring lives. Teens bombarded by the secular “gospel” that there are many paths to God and, for now, it’s OK to do whatever you want.

How do you get them to hear an explanation of sin and why it’s destructive? Or how do you talk about salvation and why they need it?

And how do you describe how a perfect man died and yet lives, and how He can make a difference in their lives?

Former professional motocross racer Brad Bennett knows what it’s like to be a teenager who didn’t grow up in church. 

“I was in a good family, but I wasn’t exposed to the Gospel growing up,” Bennett said. “My passion, more than anything since I was 12, was racing motocross.” He spent hours practicing every day, forgoing many of the extracurricular activities of his peers. 

Bennett’s family recognized his potential and supported him in his dream by taking him to competitions. He graduated early from high school to get his professional racing license. Yamaha sponsored him, and he began racing across the United States.

Bennett was 19 when he first met one of his motocross heroes, Steve Wise, whom Bennett had admired for years on Wide World of Sports. Bennett recalls having just a normal conversation with Wise a few hours later – normal until Wise said to him, “I know the only thing you think of is motocross -- it was for me for a long time too. But if you died today, where do you think you would go?”

Bennett replied, “I think I would go to heaven.”

Wise asked him, “Why?’

“Because I’m basically a good person,” Bennett said.

Wise then shared that without a personal relationship with Christ, there is no hope of going to heaven. That conversation resulted in Bennett turning his life over to Christ.

“I’ve always been the kind of person that, no matter what I’ve done, I’ve thrown myself into it 110 percent,” Bennett said. “I raced a few more years, and as life went on I realized it wasn’t all there was. I quit racing in 1990 and started getting grounded in my faith.”

By 1996, Bennett knew that God was calling him to fulltime ministry. He became a youth pastor at First Baptist Church in Salem, Mo., but his growing desire to share the Gospel led to sense there was more to God’s plan. He began doing small outreach events, and God began to give him a vision.

“When I first started out, I wasn’t using motorcycles and didn’t even own one. I was doing character-based positive school assemblies and it was just me and the mic,” he said. Then God gave him the idea to use drama, and he later incorporated a band. Then the idea to use extreme sports came. Bennett prayed about that, and when someone donated a $5,000 motorcycle to his Real Ministry outreach organization, he took that as confirmation. Gas Gas USA motorcycles in Kansas City, Mo., currently sponsors Bennett and his ministry, supplying him with bikes and parts.

The drama, the music, the lights, the stunts –- all are geared toward leading unsaved youth to a real encounter with God. “Without a real encounter, nothing changes,” said Bennett, who plays a lead role in the teen-oriented Real Encounter Youth Crusades pioneered in conjunction with the Arkansas Baptist State Convention.

“When I got saved, it was real. God changed my life. That’s how it is supposed to be. We don’t just do this to see people walk the aisle and pray. We do it so that they will take hold of God and so that God can take hold of them.”

At the Real Encounter Crusades, music by several quality Christian bands helps prepare the hearts of lost students. The song lyrics, while not overtly Christian or evangelistic, make a connection with students by verbalizing the difficult questions they ask, often without finding satisfying answers. 

Bennett then speaks to those struggles, such as rejection, loneliness, family breakups, and he conveys how Jesus is the answer for those struggles. He uses the drama team to provide visual illustrations of what he presents directly from Scripture. In the Real Encounter promotional DVD, quoting from John 10:10, Bennett says, “The thief -- the thief being Satan -- comes to steal, kill and destroy. Is Satan destroying your life?”

One drama, set to haunting and sometimes intense music, shows how a young teenage girl walked away from Jesus to listen to the enticements of Satan. Satan shows her things he can give her that excite her and create desire in her. But at some point, Satan’s hand passes before her face, and she is spellbound. Satan begins to control her like a puppet, gently at first but his control of her life becomes increasingly violent. The hatred he has for her is obvious, but she is powerless to free herself from his control.

Then Jesus begins calling to her. He contends with Satan for her life. He clears the way for her safe return and then empowers her to defeat her enemy.

“It all points to the moment that I stand on the stage. I talk about the dramas and it all fits like a glove. By the time I get up, they’ve seen the Gospel in several ways and when I speak it, the soil has been prepared and they are ready to receive the seed,” Bennett said.

The Real Encounter Crusade targets smaller rural communities where professional events are far from commonplace. The crusade team conducts high-energy, quality, character-based school assemblies to make a connection with students. Bennett speaks to students about the hard work and commitment it took to allow him the experiences he has had, and he encourages students to set goals, work hard and make right choices to achieve their own dreams. 

On a large mat brought to protect the floor of the high school gym, Bennett performs some smaller freestyle stunts in the assembly, with the promise of an “extreme” event that evening. Bennett promises a totally free, totally cool, X-Games type demonstration rarely seen in smaller towns -- stunts like burnouts, splatters (climbing straight up an eight-foot wall), and freestyle jumps over cars.

On the average, 50 percent of those at the assemblies will return for the evening event to see and hear and experience a solid and to-the-point Gospel presentation, and then be invited to respond.

But it isn’t just about seeing them walk the aisle, Bennett noted. “One thing we don’t want to miss is the evangelism training part. Every church is required to go through the evangelism training -- four weeks before the crusade and four weeks after. We want to see a lasting impact on the community, not just a blow-in, blow-out event.”

Heath Clower, youth pastor at First Baptist Church of Clinton, Ark., admits that follow-up is still the biggest struggle. However, his church is still witnessing fruit from the crusade held on the county fairgrounds last October. “We baptized a young girl just a few weeks ago who made a decision at Real Encounter. Her family has started coming to church as well,” he said.

Clower said he believes so many lost youth turned out for the events, first of all, because the school assemblies gave them a taste of what they would see at the nightly events. “That and free food are why a lot of lost people came,” he said. The sponsoring churches of several denominations served hot dogs, hamburgers and pizza while the crowd watched about 25 minutes of jumps and stunts. 

“Then everyone was encouraged to go inside the hall at the fairgrounds, where they had a stage and a light show with smoke, the drama team and the band. We had so many kids one night, we couldn’t fit everyone in -- it was jam-packed,” Clower said.

Of about 500 who attended the Clinton event each night, 81 youth and adults made salvation decisions and 53 renewed their commitment to Christ -- numbers that closely parallel results at each Real Encounter event. 

Bennett is amazed at the way God has used his skills and abilities to create this ministry and get the Gospel to so many. Besides his motorcycle skills, God has also gifted him with administration and organization abilities. The promotional packet for a Real Encounter weekend contains all the information that churches and school officials will need to know about what they will experience in a Real Encounter Crusade, and what their own responsibilities will be. “I’m a neat-freak,” Bennett joked. “God has given me the gifts of administration and discernment -- being able to see what works and what doesn’t. He gets the credit for all of this.”

From the initial Real Encounter crusade in Arkansas three years ago, the ministry has stretched into six states. In 2004, Real Encounter events took place in 15 cities, sharing Christ with over 75,000 students and adults. Nearly 2,500 students and adults entered a new relationship with Christ during those events.

“The message is the same,” Bennett said in regard to what Christians have proclaimed throughout the ages, “but our methods must change.”
--30—-
For more information about Real Encounter Crusades, visit www.realencounter.org or call 1-866-823-7325 (1-866-U-BE-REAL).


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Judge denies motion to appoint attorney for Terri Schiavo
by Brent Thompson
Date: February 14, 2005 - Monday

LAKELAND, Fla. (BP)--On the fifth anniversary of Circuit Court Judge George Greer’s Feb. 11, 2000, order to remove Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube, Greer struck another blow to Robert and Mary Schindler’s efforts to keep their daughter alive when he denied their Jan. 6 motion to set aside that 2000 order and appoint an attorney for her.

The Schindlers are the respondents in the guardianship petition filed by Terri Schiavo’s husband, Michael Schiavo, who has been trying since 2000 to have her feeding tube removed. Schiavo, the woman at the center of the nationwide life-and-death debate, has been in and out of nursing homes and hospice care since she collapsed in 1990, possibly of a potassium imbalance. With her heart stopped, her brain was deprived of oxygen and she became severely disabled.

In their Jan. 6 request to set aside, or “void,” the 2000 feeding tube removal order, the Schindlers made three arguments. 

The first argument was that Greer’s 2000 order was void because Terri Schiavo had been denied state and federal procedural due process rights to have her own attorney. Drawing analogies to rights given to felons in death penalty cases, the Schindlers’ petition pointed out that they had their own attorneys and Michael Schiavo had two attorneys, but Terri Schiavo had no legal counsel in a court proceeding at which her life was at stake.

Greer disposed of this argument by ruling that there was a distinction between the legal requirements to appoint an attorney in proceedings to decide whether a guardianship should be established versus proceedings to decide whether a person such as Terri Schiavo who has been deemed incompetent should have her feeding tube removed.

Greer implied that Terri Schiavo would have been entitled to an attorney in a guardianship establishment proceeding. But he declared that she had no such right in a tube removal proceeding where her “guardian or surrogate decision-maker is authorized to exercise her constitutional right to privacy for her.”

The Schindlers’ second argument was that Florida law in effect at the time of Terri Schiavo’s alleged statements not to prolong her life did not include “provision of sustenance” within the definition of “life-prolonging procedure.” They noted that it was not until 1999 that Florida law included “persistent vegetative state” in its definition of “terminal condition.” They argued that Greer in 2000 had improperly applied laws retroactively when he ordered the tube be removed based on her husband’s testimony that in the mid-1980s Terri Schiavo had told him that she would not want to be kept alive by any life-prolonging procedures.

Greer did not accept this argument either. He ruled that the Florida court of appeals had already settled the matter of which legal standards he was to apply to the 2000 feeding tube removal hearing, that he had applied the proper legal standards, and that there was no evidence that any retroactive application of the law had taken place at that time.

Thirdly, the Schindlers argued that Greer had violated constitutional separation of powers prohibitions and encroached on the authority of the legislative and executive branches of government when he acted as Terri Schiavo’s “surrogate” or “guardian” in issuing the 2000 order.

Greer also rejected this argument. He ruled that his 2000 decision did not encroach on legislative authority because it was “partially based on the state constitutional right to privacy,” and “the procedures that were followed had been approved by the Second District Court of Appeals.” He ruled that the legal authority presented by the Schindlers for this argument did not support it. 

In sum, Greer ruled that the Schindlers had failed to show any legal authority for any of their arguments, and summarily denied their request to set aside the 2000 order and appoint an attorney for their daughter.

The fight for Terri Schiavo’s life continues on other fronts.

On Feb. 4 Florida's Second District Court of Appeals dismissed without an opinion an appeal that would have considered the religious liberty rights of Schiavo, centering on the pope's declaration last year that removal of a feeding tube is not compatible with Roman Catholic pro-life teachings. Schiavo is Catholic.

The Second District Court's decision, when it is finalized procedurally Feb. 22, will most likely end a current stay issued by Pinellas County Circuit Judge George Greer that is keeping Schiavo alive. The stay halts his 2000 ruling that said healthcare workers -- at the request of Terri's husband and guardian, Michael Schiavo -- could discontinue feeding Terri. Once her feeding tubes are removed, she will die by starvation and dehydration -- most likely within seven to 10 days.

Attorneys for the Schindler family plan to attempt to appeal the Second District Court’s decision and thus take the issue of a disabled person's religious liberty rights to the U.S. Supreme Court.
--30--


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Bible translation debate: Complete TNIV hits the streets
by Jeff Robinson
Date: February 14, 2005 - Monday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--Would Gen-Xers and ‘Gen-Yers’ better understand their American heritage if history books called the men who gathered at the first Constitutional Convention “our founding human beings” instead of “our founding fathers?”

Translators of the full-Bible edition of Today’s New International Version (TNIV), released Feb. 4 by Zondervan, have tampered in similar fashion with something infinitely more sacred, evangelical Bible scholar/theologian Wayne Grudem says. 

By employing gender-neutral language, translators have edited the Scriptures in a manner that is both inaccurate and unnecessary, says Grudem, research professor of Bible and theology at Phoenix Seminary in Scottsdale, Ariz., and co-author of “The TNIV and the Gender-Neutral Bible Controversy” (Broadman & Holman, 2004).  

“They are changing a historical document &#91;the Bible&#93;,” Grudem said. “It is like someone writing about Bob Dylan’s song from the 1960s, ‘How many roads must a man walk down, before you call him a man?’ and deciding that people today wouldn’t understand that Bob Dylan was using an example of a specific man to teach a general truth, and therefore telling modern 18-34 year olds that Bob Dylan wrote these words in a song: ‘How many roads must a human being walk down, before you call them a person?’ 

"That would not be historically accurate, nor would it be necessary. But that is what the TNIV has done to the Bible.”  

Zondervan released the TNIV in early February following perhaps one of the largest advertising campaigns in church history. The publishing house pumped millions of dollars into a media blitz that saw it run ads in scores of publications both sacred and secular, including “Rolling Stone,” which apparently changed its policy to run the ad after initially rejecting it due to “religious content.” 

The TNIV is an updated version of Zondervan’s famous New International Version (NIV), which was for many years the best-selling Bible translation, annually pulling in one third of all Bible sales. The main difference between the TNIV and the NIV is that the new translation employs “inclusive language.” That is, many words referring to the male gender are changed to include the female gender -- “they” instead of “he,” “parent” instead of “father,” “brothers and sisters” instead of “brothers,” and so on.

Zondervan is targeting the 18-34 age group with the new translation, a demographic that Paul Caminiti, vice president and publisher for Bibles for Zondervan, says is hungry for spiritual truth.

“Our mission at Zondervan for our Bible group is simple: It is more people engaging the Bible more,” Caminiti said. “We have wrestled for some time with the idea that we might engage more people than ever before in God’s Word. And as we began to look carefully at that and as we began to study different people and their degrees of ripeness, in a sense, for spiritual truth, it became clear through our research that the most spiritually-intrigued group on the planet are 18 to 34 year olds.”

Still, Grudem contends that a desire to reach a particular demographic group does not provide warrant to alter the Scriptures.

“I think every 18-34 year old can understand the first grade reading words ‘man,’ ‘father,’ ‘son,’ ‘brother,’ and ‘he/him/his,’” Grudem said. “Do people really want a Bible where they can’t trust that what they are reading is what the Bible says?”

Instead of using terms such as “gender inclusive” and “gender neutral” to describe the TNIV’s revised language, Zondervan’s ad blitz uses the slogan “Timeless truth. Today’s language" and says the Bible is “gender accurate." But that itself is an inaccurate description, say both Grudem and Randy Stinson, executive director of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.

“This translation is by and large inaccurate when it comes to the gender-related language,” Stinson said. “While calling it gender-accurate might be a good marketing move, it cannot hide the fact that in literally thousands of places this Bible -- in its use of words such as `son’, `he’, `him’, `his’, `brother’, `man’, and `father’, are translated in ways not recognized in standard Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic dictionaries. The result is a loss of meaning throughout the entire Old and New Testament.” 

Despite Zondervan’s noble intentions, Stinson fears that changing pronouns and inserting neutral gender references to suit contemporary whims will not compel large numbers of any age particular group to desire the Scriptures but will only place an inaccurate translation in the hands of Christians.

“While we are grateful for the desire to reach a particular age group, we are doubtful that the reason this age group does not read the Bible is because of masculine pronouns and the presence of words like father, brother, and son,” Stinson said. “It is possible to have good motives and still end up with a faulty product. This, in my estimation, is what has happened with the TNIV.” 

Caminiti contends that the TNIV is an accurate translation -- one he believes eventually will replace the NIV as the translation of choice among evangelicals.

“This translation was done by the Committee for Bible Translators (CBT) which is the same committee that translated the NIV,” Caminiti said. “In our estimation, they are the most qualified group of translators on the planet. They come from the most renowned evangelical colleges and seminaries in the world. They are a who’s who of linguists and we would make a very clear distinction between someone who is a trained linguist and simply someone who has a theological degree.

“Also, this is a completely independent committee. They are not owned by Zondervan. They are not owned by the International Bible Society. They are their own independent group and, believe me, they work independently to translate God’s Word in the most accurate way possible.”  

Mark Rice, vice president of corporate communications for Zondervan, insists that the TNIV meets one of the company’s most important criteria: widespread acceptance by its target demographic. 

“The one thing we have really kept in focus is, and what frankly has been the most encouraging, has been the response we’ve received from the age group that we are after. That is frankly, for us, the response that is most important -- and that is how are 18 to 34 year olds responding to the text?” Rice said.

“Our biggest supporters have been young people in the 18 to 34 year old demographic who want a Bible that combines the best in biblical scholarship with language that is relevant today and we have received overwhelming support from that age group. To us that is the true sign of how this text is being received in the market.”

The TNIV is one of several new translations released in recent years. The Holman Christian Standard Bible, published by Broadman & Holman, was released in 2004. Incidentally, the HCSB may share some common ground with the controversial TNIV translation simply because in some cases HCSB translators saw that a passage in the original language indeed had no gender specificity. On the other hand, in some cases the HCSB may break with the 1984 New International Version which added masculine pronouns not reflected in the original text.

The TNIV controversy has a shelf life that dates back nearly a decade. 

News of plans to revise the NIV in a gender-neutral direction first came to public notice in 1997 when WORLD magazine detailed the intentions of Zondervan and the International Bible Society (IBS) -- the group responsible for the NIV -- in a series of stories that led to a meeting in Colorado Springs between a number of evangelical leaders and Bible scholars and representatives from Zondervan and IBS.

Participants in that meeting -- which Focus on the Family founder James Dobson convened -- reached an agreement that the NIV would not be revised as planned. Opponents of the revision, as well as Zondervan and IBS representatives, signed a document called the “Colorado Springs Guidelines” that gave specific guidance as to how gender-related language in the Bible should be handled. 

However, in 1999, IBS effectively reneged on the agreement and announced plans for a new translation. In 2002, Zondervan rolled out the New Testament edition of the TNIV, which unleashed a hail of discussion over its use of the original languages.  

Citing an article that appeared in the organization’s publication “Light Magazine,” WORLD’s Gene Edward Veith recently reported that IBS President Peter Bradley said translators had to “withdraw” from the Colorado Springs Guidelines because they conflicted with guidelines of the Forum of Bible Agencies, to which the IBS subscribes. In the wake of the release of the TNIV New Testament, more than 100 evangelical leaders, including many Southern Baptists, signed onto a public statement stating that “the TNIV Bible is not sufficiently trustworthy.” 

In producing English Bibles, there essentially are two approaches to their translation. One is "formal equivalence" -- sometimes referred to as a "literal" or "word-for-word" translation. Literal translations must paraphrase certain isolated texts, but the basis for the approach is to treat every word as inspired and thus important. The other approach is called "dynamic," which is occasionally referred to as a "paraphrase." Dynamic translations tend simply to maintain the concept of the verse, while not necessarily rendering an exact translation of the original text.

Dynamic equivalence translations include the NIV and variations of the Living Bible, among others. Formal equivalence translations include the New American Standard Bible (NASB), English Standard Version (ESV), Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB), New King James Version (NKJV) and the venerable KJV. 

So where does this discussion leave the discriminating pew-sitter in the local church? Stinson urges believers to select translations that are most literally congruent to the ancient biblical languages.

“Evangelicals should be encouraged to embrace translations that have adopted a word-for-word translation philosophy such as the ESV, NASB, NKJV, or HCSB, just to name a few,” he said. “People buying Bibles should have accuracy as their first concern. Even those in the 18-34 age group can understand the language in these translations.”
--30--
The TNIV is available online at www.tniv.com. The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood will be providing more extensive critiques of the TNIV at www.cbmw.org.
       




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Where does it err? TNIV texts that experts say miss the mark
by Jeff Robinson
Date: February 14, 2005 - Monday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--In an initial examination of the full-Bible edition of Today’s New International Version (TNIV) released Feb. 4 by Zondervan, critics say they have found attempts at “gender neutrality” that substantially change the meaning of the passages.

Bible scholar/theologian Wayne A. Grudem and Randy Stinson, executive director of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) have provided preliminary analysis on the TNIV’s revisions. Grudem is research professor of the Bible and theology at Phoenix Seminary in Scottsdale, Ariz., and is past president of both CBMW and the Evangelical Theological Society. 

Following are a few examples provided by Grudem and Stinson:

-- Psalm 8:4. The NIV renders the verse, “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?” The TNIV revises this to read: “What are mere mortals that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?" 

“The singular ‘man’ meaning ‘the human race’ is changed to plural ‘mere mortals,’ wrongly removing the sense of unity of the human race -- the Hebrew is singular,” Grudem said. “The Hebrew singular ‘ben’ which means ‘son’, and the singular ‘adam,’ which means ‘man,’ are incorrectly translated with the plural ‘human beings,’ removing the masculine meaning, and thus removing the title ‘son of man,’ which Jesus often used of himself. The TNIV also incorrectly removes ‘son of man’ when this verse is quoted in Hebrews 2:6.” 

The change in the text removes the potential Messianic connection, Stinson said.

-- Luke 17:3. The NIV reads: “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.” The TNIV reads: If a brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them.” 

Grudem points out that translators have inserted the words “or sister,” words which Jesus did not say and are not found in the Greek text. The Bible can say “brother or sister” when it needs to and does in other places such as James 2:15, Grudem said. “I agree, of course, that ‘If your brother sins against you’ also applies to sisters who sin, just as the parable of the Prodigal Son also applies to prodigal daughters, and just as ‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife’ also applies to not coveting your neighbor’s husband. But people have easily understood this for centuries: When the Bible uses an example of an individual man or woman to teach a general principle, the principle also applies to people of the opposite sex. We do not have to add the words ‘or sister’ to understand this. We should not add to Jesus’ words things that have no basis in the Greek text.”  

-- Psalm 34:20. The NIV renders this verse: “He protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.” But the TNIV changes it to read, “He protects their bones, not one of them will be broken.”

The passage is emptied of its Messianic connection, Stinson says. 

-- Hebrews 2:17. The NIV reads: “For this reason, he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.” TNIV: “For this reason, he had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.”

A problem arises when one is asked to consider how Jesus became like his sisters “in every way,” both Grudem and Stinson said. All Old Testament priests were men and it is certain that the high priest was a man, Grudem said. Therefore, Grudem says the TNIV’s translation borders on creating a knotty problem. “This text does not quite proclaim an androgynous Jesus &#91;who was both male and female&#93;,” Grudem says. “But it surely leaves open a wide door for misunderstanding, and almost invites misunderstanding. Meditate on that phrase ‘in every way’ and see if you can trust the TNIV.” 

Grudem said it is proper to remove male-oriented words when there is no male-oriented meaning in the original Greek or Hebrew text, but he said the above examples and many others underscore the reason why fidelity to the Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic manuscripts is non-negotiable.

“When there is a male meaning, we dare not under-translate and conceal the meaning just because that emphasis is unpopular today,” he said. 

Vern Poythress, co-author with Grudem of “The TNIV and the Gender-Neutral Controversy” (Broadman & Holman, 2004), offers further evaluation of the TNIV’s altered meanings in an article on CBMW’s website. Further evaluation of the TNIV is available at www.cbmw.org.
--30--
 
 



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Book critiquing gender-neutral Bibles expanded & republished
by Jeff Robinson
Date: February 14, 2005 - Monday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--With the release of the complete-Bible edition of the gender-neutral Today's New International Version (TNIV), a book on gender-neutral Bible translations has been significantly expanded and republished.

"The TNIV and the Gender-Neutral Bible Controversy" was released in December by Broadman & Holman. First published in 2000, the new book includes six additional chapters in which authors Wayne A. Grudem and Vern S. Poythress interact with scholars who wrote in defense of the TNIV New Testament. WORLD magazine recently called it "the book to get" for those wanting to understand the controversy.

The TNIV New Testament was published in early 2002 by Zondervan and the International Bible Society (IBS), setting off a spirited debate among scholars opposed to and in favor of the use of gender-neutral language. The complete TNIV Bible was released Feb. 4. 

The Grudem/Poythress volume includes the original 14 chapters and six appendices that composed the original volume. These chapters deal with such translation issues as use of the generic "he," unacceptable changes that eliminate references to men and permissible changes in translating gender-related terms. 

Grudem and Poythress offer a brief summary of concerns about the TNIV and interact with gender-neutral advocates such as D.A. Carson, Craig Blomberg, Darrell Bock, Peter Bradley and Bruce Waltke. Additionally, the authors present a categorized list of 900 translation inaccuracies in the TNIV.

In addition, the book shows how the TNIV avoids using the generic "he" and lists more than 100 evangelical leaders who agree that the TNIV is not sufficiently trustworthy to commend to Christians.

"Vern Poythress and Wayne Grudem have presented a well-reasoned and level-headed argument for their case," Valeria Becker Makkai writes in the forward. Makkai is associate professor of linguistics at the University of Illinois-Chicago. 

"Indeed, they are a voice of reason in a dispute that is fraught with emotion and misinformation. They clearly understand the fluid and changing nature of language and their arguments are based on sound linguistic principles...."

The authors write in their preface that they both think “the issue of Bible translation deserves careful reflection, and that Christians need to be aware of the problems with gender-neutral translations.”
--30--
"The TNIV and the Gender-Neutral Bible Controversy" is available online at www.lifewaystores.com.


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Shiites, Kurds emerge atop official Iraqi vote
by David Roach
Date: February 14, 2005 - Monday

BAGHDAD (BP)--Clergy-backed Shiites and independence-minded Kurds enjoyed victory in Iraq’s Jan. 30 elections, according to final results released Feb. 13. 

The 48 percent of the vote won by a Shiite coalition known as the United Iraqi Alliance and the 26 percent won by a coalition of Kurdish parties gives power to the two groups that suffered most severely under Saddam Hussein’s regime. The Iraqi List, the secularly minded slate of candidates led by interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, finished third with 14 percent.

Many Sunni Arabs, who make up approximately 20 percent of Iraq’s population, did not participate in the elections, either out of fear of violence or in support of a boycott called for by radical Sunni clerics.

Results were expected to be certified within three days, after which time seats in a 275-member national assembly will be distributed.

President Bush congratulated Iraqi candidates and voters on taking an important step toward democracy.

“Two weeks ago, more than 8 million Iraqis defied terrorists and went to the polls,” Bush said in a Feb. 13 statement. “The world saw long lines of Iraqi men and women voting in a free and fair election for the first time in their lives. The United States and our coalition partners can all take pride in our role in making that great day possible.

“Today, the provisional results of the election have been announced. We still await their review and certification. I congratulate the Iraqi people for defying terrorist threats and setting their country on the path of democracy and freedom. And I congratulate every candidate who stood for election and those who will take office once the results are certified.”

The United Iraqi Alliance received just over 4 million of the more than 8 million votes cast, which will translate into approximately 140 seats in the national assembly. The Kurdish coalition, known as The Kurdistan Alliance, received 2,175,551 votes and will end up with approximately 75 seats.

The victorious Shiite ticket may owe its success to the support of Iraq’s clerics, including the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, according to the Associated Press. Shiites, who make up approximately 60 percent of Iraq’s population, see the newly elected government as an opportunity to translate their majority status into political power after being oppressed under Hussein.

Although the United Iraqi Alliance included some Sunni candidates, most Sunni politicians fared poorly. The slate headed by interim President Ghazi al-Yawer claimed only 150,680 votes while the ticket headed by prominent Sunni politician Adnan Pachachi won fewer than 13,000 votes, the AP reported.

It appeared that a total of 12 coalitions would claim seats.

Once in place, the national assembly will elect a president and two vice presidents by a two-thirds majority. The three leaders will then choose a new prime minister subject to assembly approval. The national assembly also will write Iraq's constitution, which will be approved by a referendum. The referendum will be followed by another round of elections in December.

The poor Sunni turnout has caused some experts to fear continued Sunni-led insurgency. But failure of the Shiites to capture the two-thirds majority needed to control many key votes could force the Shiites to cooperate with other political groups. 

Finance minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a Shiite thought to be a contender for prime minister, told the al-Arabiya news service that the next Iraqi government is burdened with “difficult and complicated responsibilities that require national unity and the wide support of the national assembly” and the presidency. He said his alliance is “seeking to realize a wide national harmony” in the new government.

Iraq’s electoral commission reported that 8.55 million voters, or 58 percent of registered voters, went to the polls.
--30--


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True Love Waits launches community-wide initiative
by Staff
Date: February 14, 2005 - Monday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--LifeWay Christian Resources kicked off its new True Love Waits initiative, “Takes the Town,” with a reception for youth ministers and community leaders and a concert featuring Christian recording artist Barlow Girl.

The Takes the Town theme encourages communities to unite by involving schools, local governments, businesses, churches, health organizations and others to promote abstinence.

"We hope it broadens the impact of the commitment to sexual abstinence until marriage," Jimmy Hester, coordinator for the True Love Waits team and the senior director of LifeWay’s student ministry publishing department, said during the Feb. 11 event at LifeWay’s offices in Nashville, Tenn..

True Love Waits spokesperson Paul Turner said the new theme developed as the logical next step for the 11-year-old ministry. "We’ve done a good job with churches and making students understand," he said. "I think God has prepared the culture to take a stand for sexual purity."

Several local YMCA employees attended the reception and voiced their support for the program and the impact it has made. Dawana Wade is the YMCA’s vice president of community development as well as the mother of two teenagers.

"It makes sense for me to connect myself with people that have the same views of sexual purity that I do," Wade said. "If we as a community embrace and recognize the &#91;long ranging effects&#93; of sexual activity, maybe the youth at the Y will, too."

Since 1993, an estimated 2.5 to 3 million youth have signed cards pledging to remain sexually abstinent until marriage. Turner said he believes communities have the power to help that number continue to grow. "If everyone is saying the same message, students start to say, ‘You know, there might be something to this.’"

Hester said the True Love Waits team has set a goal of involving 50 communities in this unified effort during the first year, noting, "This is the kind of emphasis in a community that could really sway &#91;youth’s&#93; choices."

A study by the American Journal of Sociology found that teenagers who pledge abstinence until marriage are 34 percent less likely to have sex than those who do not make that pledge. The study suggested the pledge is effective because it creates an "identity movement" or "moral majority" that offers peer support.

True Love Waits is designed to encourage sexual purity through adherence to biblical principles and positive peer pressure. The pledge to abstinence comes after eight weeks of teaching and study. Hester said the intention is to give youth a biblical understanding of sexuality and God’s design for a sexual relationship within the boundaries of marriage between one man and one woman.
--30--
For more information about True Love Waits or the "Takes the Town" initiative, visit truelovewaits.com.


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FIRST-PERSON: Who's afraid of the fetus?
by R. Albert Mohler Jr.
Date: February 14, 2005 - Monday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--The front page of The New York Times may well be journalism's most prized piece of real estate. That fact makes the appearance of one particular article all the more surprising and noteworthy.

In the paper's Feb. 2, 2005 edition, reporter Neela Banerjee reported on the use of ultrasound technology by crisis pregnancy centers. In an article headlined, "Christian Groups Turn to Sonogram to Turn Women from Abortions," Banerjee offered a unique glimpse into one of the most transformative developments in the struggle against abortion.

The article began by introducing Andrea Brown, who at age 24, "desperate for an abortion," came across the Bowie Crofton Pregnancy Center and Medical Clinic, a "church-financed organization that provides counseling and education about sexual abstinence" in Bowie, Md.

When she called the center, Brown was told that the facility did not perform abortions or provide abortion referrals, but that she could come in for an ultrasound that would ensure the viability of her baby. As Banerjee reported, "When she did, everything changed."

"When I had the sonogram and heard the heartbeat -- and for me a heartbeat symbolizes life -- after that there was no way I could do it," Brown recalled. Once she had seen the image of her unborn baby, abortion was no longer an option.

Andrea Brown's testimony is hardly unique. That fact explains why The New York Times decided that the emergence of ultrasound technology in the abortion debate is front-page news. As Banerjee explained, "In the battle of abortion, opponents say they have discovered a powerful new tool: sonograms. And over the last 18 months, they have started major fund-raising campaigns to outfit Christian crisis pregnancy centers with ultrasound equipment."   

The ultrasound technology now employed by these crisis pregnancy centers offers unprecedented views into the womb, providing a three dimensional image of the baby as it develops. At some stages of pregnancy, the images come close to representing a real-time video image of the baby at play, at rest and in motion. 

According to the Heidi Group, a Christian organization that advises crisis pregnancy centers, up to 90 percent of women visiting the clinics who see their babies through the use of ultrasound technology change their minds and no longer seek an abortion.

Make no mistake -- pro-abortion advocates understand what this new development represents. Susanne Martinez, vice president of public policy at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, told The New York Times that the use of such images by pregnancy centers "is coercive."

In an amazingly candid statement, Martinez put the issue in perspective. "From the time they walk into these centers, they are inundated with information that is propaganda and that has one goal in mind.  And that is to have women continue with their pregnancies."

Got it? Martinez clearly believes that something dreadful has happened when women are persuaded to continue with their pregnancies and not to seek abortions. Of course, all that makes sense when the Planned Parenthood Federation of America comes into closer view, and its real agenda is made clear. 

Dr. Sandra M. Christiansen, medical director of the Carenet Pregnancy Center in Frederick, Md., countered Martinez's argument. "Women have a right to know what is going on inside their bodies," she insisted, "and we want to provide women with critical information as they face a life-altering procedure and decision. Women will be empowered to choose life."

Christiansen made no effort to hide her motivation. "The motivation is that man and woman are made in God's image, that life is precious."

Nevertheless, Banerjee explained that pro-abortion advocates "see the technique as a pressure tactic." The reporter quoted Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America -- formerly the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League -- as saying that ultrasounds have medical legitimacy, but "shouldn't be misused to badger or coerce women by these so-called crisis pregnancy centers."

Of course, the women whose hearts are turned by the experience of seeing their unborn children are not being "coerced" by the pregnancy centers. They are being transformed by the sudden awareness that a living human being resides within their wombs. 

As for Andrea Brown -- who appeared with her smiling baby in a moving photograph published in the paper's print edition -- she intends to practice sexual abstinence until she gets married. Smiling at her daughter, she added, "I have a constant reminder of what can happen if I don't."

The national media has been watching the development of these crisis pregnancy centers and the impact of ultrasound technology for some time. Writing for the Newhouse News Service, reporter Mark O'Keefe traced the experience of Rebekah Nancarrow, a 23-year-old woman who visited a faith-based pregnancy center in Dallas, Texas. According to O'Keefe's report, Nancarrow went into the clinic "95 percent certain I was going to have an abortion." 

Nevertheless, once Nancarrow saw her baby through an ultrasound technology, everything was changed. "She was moving, she was kicking, she had legs." Nancarrow made a promise to her baby on the spot: "I will take care of you." 

O'Keefe reported that "abortion rights groups oppose the practice, arguing that ultrasound becomes a manipulative weapon when put in the hands of religious activists trying to persuade pregnant, vulnerable women." Planned Parenthood's Suzanne Martinez, also cited in O'Keefe's article, charged that the use of ultrasound technology by pregnancy centers "isn't a matter of providing more knowledge, but an attempt to manipulate women." In other words, the abortion industry doesn't want pregnant women to see inside their own wombs -- and thus recognize the humanity of their unborn children.

Just how powerful is this new technology? Tom Glessner, president of the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, headquartered in Fredericksburg, Va., argues that the use of ultrasound technology promises to change the entire landscape of abortion in America.

"I'm not a prophet," Glessner told the reporter, "but I do have an educated feel for this thing and the bottom line is this: By the end of this decade, we want to have 1,000 pregnancy centers becoming medical centers with ultrasound. If those 1,000 medical centers provide, on the average, 1,500 ultrasounds for abortion-minded women per year, we will see the number of abortions in this country plummeting to 500,000 a year, compared to the current 1.3 million." 

In the Newhouse News Service article, Rebekah Nancarrow recalled that she had first visited Planned Parenthood in 2001, when she discovered she was pregnant. She went because her boyfriend was pressuring her to have an abortion. Nancarrow received an ultrasound test at the Planned Parenthood clinic, she related, but was not allowed to see the results because, as she was told, "that will only make it harder on you." 

This was just too much for Nancarrow, who then visited the Dallas Pregnancy Resource Center, where she recalls telling the personnel, "I'm only here to give you one shot to get another view on this." 

That one shot was all it took. Once she saw the image of her living baby, she lost all interest in an abortion. 

"I honestly have to say that had I not had the sonogram &#91;ultrasound&#93;, I would have had the abortion," Nancarrow said. "But that sonogram just confirmed 100 percent to me that this was a life within me, not a tissue or a glob." 

The panic setting in among the abortion rights crowd is understandable. Once women see the baby living in their womb, abortion is revealed for what it is -- the murder of a living human being. 

Needless to say, this gets in the way of the abortion rights agenda and cuts into the profits of the abortion industry. Once the image of the baby is on the screen, the writing is on the wall for the abortionists.

The logic of panic is the only explanation for many pro-abortion responses to the use of ultrasound technology. Writing for The American Prospect -- one of the nation's most liberal political journals -- Matthew Nisbet accused General Electric of promoting the pro-life agenda by advertising its new "4D Ultrasound" imaging system. 

Back in 2002, GE ran a series of television advertisements demonstrating the use of the powerful imaging technology. As Ewan McColl's ballad, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" played in the background, a couple viewed their baby's face for the first time. 

The pro-abortion movement fears the impact of ultrasound technology the way Howard Hughes feared germs.

The website of the Feminist Women's Health Center, a group that operates abortion clinics in several states, warns women that they should stay away from crisis pregnancy centers altogether. "Some of these centers offer ultrasound &#91;also known as sonograms&#93;. But that does not mean the personnel operating the equipment are medically trained." In truth, most states require a licensed physician to be present as the test is administered, but what the abortion advocates really fear is that the ultrasound technicians will be medically trained.

When all else fails, the Feminist Women's Health Center shifts to scare tactics. "If you discover you are seeking help from an anti-abortion facility, protect yourself from further harassment. Leave the premises immediately and do not return. When you do locate a professional clinic that offers information about all options, be sure to share your ... experience with your new counselor so that whatever distortions and misinformation you may have received can be corrected." 

There you have it. The abortion rights movement finally has met its match. The abortion industry is scared to death of the fetus, knowing that the mere image of a living baby in the womb is the refutation of every argument they can assert and all the coercion they would employ.

We stand at the threshold of a transformation in the struggle for life. In time, the impact of this one powerful technology may utterly reshape the abortion debate in America.

As Rebekah Nancarrow came to understand, she was carrying a baby, not a glob of tissue. That vision of life changed everything. 

Now, the question comes down to this: Who's afraid of the fetus? 
--30--
R. Albert Mohler Jr. is president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. For more articles and resources by Mohler, and for information on "The Albert Mohler Program," a daily national radio program broadcast on the Salem Radio Network, visit www.albertmohler.com. 


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FIRST-PERSON: EKG: an emerging strategy
by Kenneth S. Hemphill
Date: February 14, 2005 - Monday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--The Empowering Kingdom Growth emphasis in the Southern Baptist Convention has been on the front burner for almost three years. The EKG Task Force has consistently articulated its commitment that this emphasis not become another “program.” We cannot program the activity of God!

Nonetheless, we want to be a part of God's dynamic movement as He advances His Kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven." For this reason, prayer has been, from the beginning, the foundation upon which all else would be constructed. The North American Mission Board challenged Southern Baptists to begin to pray for one another, an emphasis titled "Be One in a Million." If we want to see God work mightily through Southern Baptists, we cannot ignore our foundation of prayer.

If EKG is not a program, what is it? It is a passion! It is a passion for the King and His Kingdom. A passion must be born in our hearts by the Spirit before we can begin to articulate a clear vision. Many church growth advocates argue that vision is the power that ignites a church or denomination. I beg to differ. Passion ignites, and vision focuses the power of passion. Passion is like the power of the sun, and vision is like the magnifying glass that focuses the rays of the sun and directs them to a concentrated end. Passion is ignited in our lives as the Holy Spirit fills us with His presence.

We can see this promise and pattern in the early chapters of Acts. The Acts 1:8 challenge was accompanied by the promise of the Holy Spirit: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After the giving of the Spirit at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit directed and empowered the church to advance the Kingdom in all four quadrants of the Acts 1:8 challenge. It is the work of the Spirit to Empower Kingdom Growth. We will know that our denomination's EKG emphasis has been a success when we see our churches aglow with the passion and power to reach the ends of the earth. Thus, EKG is truly about a revival of our mission passion.

The insistence that EKG not become another program does not mean that we shouldn't develop and articulate a strategy. God is not a God of confusion. Even a cursory reading of the Bible indicates that strategic planning was always included in the mighty movements of God. We could point to the organizing of the Israelites for travel and battle in the Old Testament. While they clearly relied upon the Lord and not their own military might, they nevertheless were given various strategic plans to cooperate with the Lord as He gave victory. In the Book of Acts, we see a strategic mission plan as the early apostles participated in the planting of local churches. A strategic plan develops as we cooperate with the activity of the Spirit as He empowers God's people to advance God's Kingdom.

It has been thrilling to watch God develop a strategic plan for Southern Baptists to continue to participate in the advance of God's Kingdom. Many of the elements of this emerging strategy were developed without the various partners being aware of each other's plans. This has given many of us a sense of confirmation that God is doing something that far exceeds our imagination. I believe He wants to give us exponential growth and not merely incremental growth. With 5 billion people on the planet who have not been claimed for God's Kingdom, we must pray for exponential growth.

These strategic elements include:

1) The prayer foundation. I have already indicated that prayer is foundational. If your church has not yet become involved in the process called "Be One in a Million," I would encourage you to obtain the information from NAMB and begin today.

2) “EKG: The Heartbeat of God, A Forty-Day Study.” The first task assigned to me by the EKG Task Force was to write a study that would provide a theological framework for the EKG emphasis. We wanted to make this church-friendly and, therefore, it was developed as a 40-day emphasis. Its purpose is to allow God's Word to challenge our spiritual "my"opia. I am convinced that the single greatest barrier to Kingdom advance through the local church is the pervasive idea that church is about "us." This conviction causes the church to become introverted, which in turn leads people to demand that the church meet "their needs" rather than advance the Kingdom. The single most effective way to restore a church to Kingdom vitality is to help it develop a vision for the world. If the church aims only to reach Jerusalem, it will miss the world. But if a church aims to reach the world, it will of necessity also reach Jerusalem.

3) The Acts 1:8 Challenge and doctrine study. Our North American Mission Board (NAMB) and our International Mission Board (IMB) came together to develop the Acts 1:8 Challenge. This challenge and the accompanying study are based on a simple yet profound and thoroughly biblical concept. The task of reaching Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the Earth was — and is — given to the local church. The association, the state convention and the denomination were developed over time to assist the local church in the fulfilling of its God-given mandate. When I study Southern Baptist life, I am convinced that our structure emerged out of our passion to fulfill the Acts 1:8 mandate. EKG has challenged us to look again at these Kingdom partnerships in terms of the Acts 1:8 Challenge. This year's doctrine study was written by Nate Adams and is designed to help the local church think strategically about the four quadrants of responsibility. We recommend that the local church consider linking this study to EKG: The Heartbeat of God 40-day study. This would provide a full quarter's study. Each church will need to determine the best time and manner to present the material to get the greatest impact on the local body.

4) The EKG Challenge Celebration Event. We have developed an event that will help the local church visualize the Acts 1:8 tasks and the means by which the church can participate in all four quadrants of concern. This event will have maximum impact when linked to the EKG 40-day study followed by the Acts 1:8 doctrine study, but each church will need to decide how best to use this event in their local setting. This event will assist the church with vision and strategy.

5) The state partners. I have been privileged to visit with a number of state staff members. Each state will develop unique strategies to help local churches in the development of strategies to ensure local church health. Make sure that you are aware of the assistance available to you through your association and state as you begin your Kingdom journey.

Over the past year I have been delighted and challenged by the reality that the Lord Himself is developing a synergy and strategy that is beyond the comprehension of any one of us who has been involved in the process. We see this as a developing strategy, but the local church needs to prayerfully determine how it can use any or all of these tools being made available by its Kingdom partners. 
--30--
Kenneth S. Hemphill is the SBC national strategist for Empowering Kingdom Growth.



