The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-02/17/2015 DISCLAIMER: Baptist Press should be credited for any reprinted stories that originate with BP. Suggested credit line: Reprinted from Baptist Press (www.baptistpress.com), news service of the Southern Baptist Convention. Please note that Baptist Press periodically carries stories from other sources by permission. Individuals interested in reprinting non-BP stories should contact the entity where the story originated to seek reprint permission. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Fifty Shades' draws successful opening weekend by Diana Chandler Date: February 17, 2015 - Tuesday NASHVILLE (BP) -- Record-breaking sales for the R-rated film "Fifty Shades of Grey" on its opening weekend should grieve Christians and encourage pastors to persevere in promoting God's Word, Southern Baptists and others told Baptist Press. The movie based on the best-selling book trilogy broke the box office record by more than 50 percent for Valentine's Day viewings, bringing in $36.7 million in sales for the popular date night, and more than $85 million over the Thursday-Sunday weekend sales, according to the Box Office Mojo movie reporting service. Internationally, the R-rated movie earned $158 million, Box Office Mojo reported. John Mark Yeats, associate professor of church history at Midwestern College of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, told Baptist Press the numbers confirm "the ongoing pornification of the U.S. and the West." "From a ministry standpoint, this should confirm the startling rise of pornography consumption amongst both men and women, if those details were in question at all," he said. "Historically, we need to be attentive to the close parallels between our age and that of the early church. "During the first couple of centuries, any Christian living in an urban environment would have experienced an all-out assault on Scriptural standards for morality. From sexual exploitation in public baths to sexual rituals as part of worship ceremonies in pagan temples, believers were assaulted with every form of temptation and visual stimuli," Yeats said. "Yet the Christian's firm grounding in the Word gave a stronger foundation to the family. Virtue became a clear defining principle of the early church. As the social units of the broader culture continued to collapse and struggle, the clear claims of the Gospel stood in stark contrast. The church truly was a city on hill that couldn't be hidden." Declining morality gives Christians ripe opportunity to proclaim the truth, he said, challenging pastors and teachers to promote the biblical truth of intimate relationships and to point out the dangers of pornography. "But more important than creating a sermon series that plays off the success of the movie, we need to keep pointing broken people to the cross where our souls find ultimate fulfillment," Yeats said. "We do that by preaching the Word of God week in and week out. Continue to call people to fix their eyes on Jesus and to follow God's plan for living that is found in the Word." Using a description similar to the one Yeats shared, Nathan Finn termed the movie evidence of the "pornization of America." "Our culture is promoting a particular narrative about gender, marriage, and sexual fulfillment," Finn, director of the Center for Spiritual Formation and Evangelical Spirituality at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, told Baptist Press. "It's a story as old as idolatry itself. As Christians, we need to counter the pornization of America, not by promoting kitschy Christian alternatives within our subculture, but by speaking prophetically to the surrounding culture. "This means we must winsomely proclaim -- and live out faithfully -- an alternative narrative wherein gender, marriage and sexual fulfillment are rooted in God's intentions as they are revealed to us in the Scriptures. "This will likely not be a popular narrative that wins us friends, but the Gospel compels us to point others to a better way," Finn said, "even as we recognize it will take a spectacular work of God to reverse the current direction our nation is heading in matters of gender and sexuality." Owen Strachan, president of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, told Baptist Press the movie's success evidences "We're in a septic age in moral terms. It glamorizes evil and sneers at holiness. But we have an apologetic opportunity larger than your local IMAX screen. We can show this age that Gospel purity, not disordered promiscuity, is beautiful." "Fifty Shades is silly and demeaning," Strachan said. "It will lead to suffering and sadness. The biblical vision of manhood and womanhood is glorious. When embraced by the Spirit's power, it leads to the very throne-room of heaven." Only 32 percent of the movie's audience over the weekend was male, and 42 percent of the audience was under the age of 25, according to exit polls by Universal Studios. While exit polls did not focus on religious beliefs, pornography addiction is prevalent among Christians, wrote Joel Owen, lead pastor of Grace Fellowship Church in Kingsport, Tenn. "Pornography isn't something only people outside the church are struggling with. Christians have been impacted deeply by pornography's pull," he said in an article submitted to Baptist Press. "This information came from an article from The Center for Parent and Youth Understanding: research says that 50% of the men and 20% of the women in church pews are addicted to pornography," he wrote, terming the statistics "Fifty Shades of Facts." Movie reviews noted the film contained about 20 minutes of sexual content. Many critics labled the movie pornographic. "Harvest USA defines pornography as 'anything the heart uses to find sexual expression outside of God's intended design for relational intimacy,'" Owen wrote. "It is anything that tempts and corrupts the human heart into desiring sensual pleasure in sinful ways." Donna Rice Hughes, CEO of the Internet safety and anti-porn group Enough is Enough, called the movie "Fifty Shades of Counterfeit." "Unfortunately, this Valentines season, Hollywood is pushing the cheap lust-filled counterfeit of genuine erotic love. Fifty Shades of Grey glamorizes sexual exploitation, bondage, degradation and sadomasochism," she wrote on World Net Daily. She noted this goes against every woman's desire to be "loved, cherished, adored, honored, protected, fought for, taken care of and if need be, rescued." Bart Barber, pastor of First Baptist Church of Farmersville, Texas, wrote that pornography normalizes the bizarre and "bizarrifies" the normal. "If one were to create a pornographic website that featured average couples who had been married 20 years or more engaging in sex as the average married couple experiences it, who would watch it? And yet study after study has shown that the greatest satisfaction in romance comes to people in just that kind of a relationship," Barber wrote on the Ethics and Religious Liberty's Canon and Culture webpage. "There is beauty there; our culture just doesn't condition us to see it. What would we see if married men and women described their marriages to a sketch artist? What would we see if their friends described their marriages? When it comes to beauty, something about us has gone wrong." Although the movie drew record revenue on its opening weekend, the box office popularity isn't expected to last. Now that Valentine's Day weekend is over, Box Office Mojo predicted the movie will fizzle before earning $200 million. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Houston verdict leaves both sides claiming victory by Bonnie Pritchett/Southern Baptist TEXAN Date: February 17, 2015 - Tuesday HOUSTON (BP) -- In a Feb. 13 verdict that left both sides claiming victory, a Houston jury handed down a decision in a lawsuit against the city and administrators for their dismissal of a petition by a coalition of pastors and civic leaders opposed to the city's Equal Rights Ordinance. Though the jury -- in a 10-2 verdict -- found nearly 2,500 forgeries among the 54,000 voter signatures, they dismissed the city's allegations of fraud. With no definitive winner revealed by the verdict, the decision will not be finalized until 152nd District Court Judge Robert Schaffer issues his judgment. Schaffer, who was out of town and did not preside over the reading of the verdict, called a hearing in the case of Woodfill v. Parker for 9 a.m. Feb. 19. Attorneys for both parties did not know if the judge would rule on the case at that time. Following the verdict lead defense attorney Geoffrey Harrison claimed the verdict as a win for the defense and Mayor Annise Parker, who championed the ordinance as a "personal" issue. Defendants in the lawsuit are Parker, former Houston City Attorney David Feldman, City Secretary Anna Russell and the City of Houston. "If the court's ruling follows the jury's verdict this will be a complete and total vindication for the city," Harrison told reporters following the verdict. "And the petition, which we declared failed back in August, will indeed be found, judicially, to have failed as well." But Andy Taylor, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said once Schaffer --and subsequent appellate courts -- apply the law and legal precedent, any still-disqualified voter signatures could be ruled valid, breathing new life into the referendum. "We are very excited the jury vindicated us and found no fraud," Taylor said, following Harrison's remarks. "This jury was asked by this mayor to indict these hardworking citizens -- these volunteer circulators -- on the basis that they committed fraud. The jury found 13 out of 13 times no fraud was committed." Lead attorneys indicated the case will be appealed when Schaffer's ruling finalizes the jury's work. The case would then go to the First or Fourteenth District Court of Appeals in Houston. Taylor said he will ask the court for an expedited process in order to get the referendum on the November ballot should his clients prevail in court. Opening arguments and testimony for Woodfill v. Parker began Jan. 27 and lasted seven days, with deliberations lasting an additional five days. Juror Patsy Jenkins said the panel had a good working relationship and established criteria for answering each of the six questions with the 154 subsets. Their review produced a wide range of findings, which left observers unable to discern their significance at first glance. Although charged with answering questions related to fraud, forgery, circulator identity and circulator oath validation requirements, jurors were not asked to render judgment on the ramifications of the city's actions. "We felt the people were not heard ... the true and genuine were not heard," Jenkins said. Thousands of registered Houston voters signed the petition in anticipation of a November 2014 vote on the ordinance, but their signatures were dismissed for a host of reasons including the work of some unscrupulous circulators. Jurors heard arguments over the definitions of "signature" and "subscribe" as they related to the city's dismissal of all but 3,905 of the 54,000 signatures on a petition to repeal the Equal Rights Ordinance passed last May, which included sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classifications. Those taking the witness stand included Feldman, Parker, pastors, church employees and petition circulators. Plaintiffs argued the city used a subjective standard for dismissing voter signatures while defense attorneys charged the petition was riddled with fraud and forgeries and, ultimately, did not comply with city code. The lawsuit's three plaintiffs included Jared Woodfill, former chairman of the Harris County Republican Party, and F.M. Williams and Max Miller, African-American pastors and community leaders. They represented the racially and politically diverse coalition of church and civic leaders who fought for nearly a year to halt the passage and implementation of the Equal Rights Ordinance. The plaintiffs' first witness, Dave Welch, executive director of the Houston Area Pastors Council, testified for more than five hours, mostly on cross examination by Harrison, one of more than a dozen private and municipal attorneys providing the defense. Welch testified that he drafted the referendum petition page drawing the format from an example given on a website linked to the official City of Houston website. But in doing so he eliminated what appeared to be an errant line in the form. That line, defense said, was essential to the form's compliance with the Houston City Charter. Without it there was no place for petition circulators to sign the oath, or affidavit, at the bottom of the page. No signature; no oath; no valid petition pages, they argued. But Taylor said the online affidavit did have a place for the circulator to write their names. And since the oaths were witnessed and validated by notary publics -- a representative of the State of Texas -- the circulators' signatures should be accepted as presented on the form. Initial dismissal of the voter signatures in August was based on illegibility, printing of circulator signatures versus cursive, and the identity of the circulators, among other issues. The dismissal gave petition organizers -- calling themselves the No UNequal Rights Coalition -- only 15,249 of the 17,269 necessary signatures to force a second vote on the ordinance by city council. The coalition sued, and the signature line became the main point of contention for the defense during the course of the investigation and trial. By Jan. 26, the day of jury selection, the number of valid signatures had shrunk to 3,905. The jury, with the exception of Jenkins and a second juror, ruled in the city's favor when analyzing the petition pages of 98 circulators. They blamed Welch, who created the form, for not checking other resources to ensure the accuracy of the document. But they also faulted the city for its publication of a petition form that lacked a definitive signature line. Throughout the trial Taylor claimed Parker and Feldman (who resigned in December) spent more time and resources trying to disqualify voter signatures than seeking signature confirmation. African-American plaintiffs and their supporters, many of whom worked in the civil rights movement, claimed the situation seemed all too familiar. The rights of the voters had been quashed. But Harrison repeatedly said the issue was about the rule of law and compliance with the Houston City Charter. "Thousands of signatures on this petition are not just highly suspect but clearly not genuine and show evidence of forgery and fraud," Harrison said. Parker, whom the plaintiffs' attorney called as an "adverse witness," concurred and challenged Taylor's analysis of the signatures. "There are lots of different ways to analyze the petition," Parker said from the stand Feb. 2. But, she continued, "it doesn't matter if you miss [the goal] by 2,000 signatures or two. The law is the law." "But if someone doesn't get counted," Taylor countered," it might matter to them -- a lot." When plaintiffs rested their case later that day, the defense called former city attorney Feldman as their first witness. He told the jury he did not initially press the issue of the petition format that would eventually nullify the vast majority of voter signatures because the referendum had failed. It wasn't until the lawsuit was filed that city attorneys began scrutinizing the affidavit portion of the form with its missing signature line. "[The referendum process] was designed to keep people from signing as someone they weren't," Feldman said in defending his actions. Seeking to illustrate their allegations of forgery and fraud the defense called a handwriting expert, Janet Masson, to cull through the petition pages. Her review revealed about 2,355 "irregularities" throughout the 5,199 pages of signatures. The jury counted those "irregularities" among the forgeries. But Taylor said the city's validation standard was inconsistent throughout the investigation and, therefore, unjust. He held the defense to the city's December analysis of signatures documented as a "final" count. According to that analysis there were 15,972 valid signatures, just 1,297 shy of the requisite number for the referendum. But the defense consistently argued the "final" count had a footnote stating more pages could be invalidated. Taylor accused the city of moving the goals, making compliance with the rules impossible. He told jurors they were the plaintiffs' only recourse in the fight against city hall. He illustrated the point during closing arguments by tossing file after file of the thousands of invalidated signature pages onto the floor. With each bundle of pages, Taylor said, "You don't count. You don't count. They don't count." "These aren't signatures," he told the jurors. "These are people trying to validate their right to petition the government." -------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST-PERSON: Preparing for the Big Day by David Jeremiah Date: February 17, 2015 - Tuesday EL CAJON, Calif. (BP) -- That famous uninvited guest named Mr. Murphy (of Murphy's Law) shows up at many weddings, for if anything can go wrong it usually does. So to avoid unplanned problems, more couples are using wedding planners. Planning for a wedding takes time, organization and effort -- so preparation is the key to a successful event. His planning Imagine, then, the plans going into the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Legions of angels will be present. Heavenly choirs will be ready to sing anthems of unrestrained praise. Clouds will be summoned to reflect the glory of the Bridegroom. Graves will burst open. The bride's eternal home, the New Jerusalem, will be ready for immediate occupancy. The arrangements for the judgment of the lost at the Great White Throne will be readied as the books of the ages are opened. Satan and his cohorts will try (and fail) to disrupt the proceedings. The plans have been made. In John 14 Jesus told His followers, "I go to prepare a place for you." If we could peer into the highest heaven and see Jesus right now, what would He be doing? I believe we'd see Him seated on the throne of heaven, overseeing the preparations for New Jerusalem and for the New Heaven and the New Earth, the home of His bride forever. I think we'd see Him interceding for His bride, praying for us as we await that day. I think we'd see Him receiving the souls of those who enter heaven before us, just as He did for Stephen in Acts chapter 7. We'd see Him ruling in the affairs of men and directing the earthly work of His church as the clock counts down to the Big Day. The perfect Wedding Planner is finalizing the plans for the greatest wedding in the history of the universe. Those who know Jesus Christ are the bride! Our planning That means we have some planning to do, too. Jesus told us to "occupy till I come" (Luke 19:13, KJV). We are to stay busy, to work hard, to occupy our time with what He has called us to do -- populating heaven by sharing the Gospel. We're to be living with joy because of our coming hope. We're to be caring for others, for as we do something for the least of humanity, we're doing it as unto Him. We're to be worshipping and working in His church, for that's good practice for eternity. Watch for the Bridegroom The story was told of a nobleman whose only child was a beautiful young lady of marriageable age. The father invited all the young noblemen in the country to come for a week of entertainment at his castle. Great preparations were made. Strolling musicians were hired, minstrels were engaged and appetizing foods were prepared. On the day of their arrival, knocking was heard at the gate. It was a deformed man on crutches. A few crusts were thrust at him as the gate slammed in his face. He continued to knock. "What do you want?" someone asked. "Isn't this the day the guests seek the nobleman's daughter? I've come to beg for her hand." Peals of laughter echoed as cooks, servants and soldiers gathered. Hearing the noise, the daughter asked what was happening and went out to see him. "What is it you want?" she asked the beggar. He fixed an earnest look on her. "I have seen you while I myself was unnoticed, and I love you and have come to ask if you will marry me?" "Yes, I will marry you," she said as the crowd shrieked. "Very well," the beggar said. "I will return in a year and a day." He did return, but not as a beggar. The beggar was the prince, the son of the king. The young maid joyfully became his bride. One of the bride's attendants asked, "How did you know that the beggar was the prince in disguise?" "I looked into his eyes," the bride said, "and listened to his voice and I knew he was indeed the son of the king." The Lord Jesus also came in humility -- many did not recognize who He was. But His chosen bride knew He was God's Son. We are that beloved bride -- and one day He will come for us as well. -------------------------------------------------------------------- More Ala. counties OK gay marriage by David Roach Date: February 17, 2015 - Tuesday MONTGOMERY, Ala. (BP) -- Following a week of tumult in Alabama concerning gay marriage, most of the state's counties are now issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. But the chief justice of Alabama's Supreme Court continues to argue that state judges who issue marriage licenses are not bound by the federal court ruling that declared Alabama's gay marriage ban unconstitutional. Meanwhile, two leaders of the Alabama Baptist State Convention have issued a statement affirming the biblical definition of marriage and noting that churches whose staff officiate same-sex weddings are not in "friendly cooperation" with the state convention. Fifty of Alabama's 67 counties had decided to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples as of Feb. 13, the New York Times reported. That marked a significant increase from Feb. 9, when as many as 44 counties said they would not issue licenses to same-sex couples despite the federal court ruling, according to USA Today. The shift in marriage license practices came after Federal District Judge Callie V.S. Granade ruled Feb. 12 that Mobile County Probate Judge Don Davis had to start issuing marriage licenses to gay couples. Probate judges are the state officials responsible for issuing marriage licenses. Granade, the same judge who originally struck down Alabama's gay marriage ban Jan. 23, wrote that Davis was causing a "substantial threat" of "irreparable injury" to four same-sex couples by not granting them marriage licenses. The homosexual couples at issue were concerned about being denied the ability to make medical decisions for one another and being denied parental rights, Granade wrote. "If Plaintiffs take all steps that are required in the normal course of business as a prerequisite to issuing a marriage license to opposite-sex couples, Judge Davis may not deny them a license on the ground that Plaintiffs constitute same-sex couples or because it is prohibited by the Sanctity of Marriage Amendment and the Alabama Marriage Protection Act or by any other Alabama law or Order pertaining to same-sex marriage," Granade wrote. But Roy Moore, chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, said Feb. 15 on Fox News Sunday that Granade's ruling is only "law of the case before her" and not an action "overturning the Alabama Constitution." "Federal law is not made by judges," Moore said. "That's something very basic. ... Those interpretations are not law. If they were, then the legislature would have no role. Legislatures are to make law. Congress is to make law. The United States ... Constitution is law. So is [the] Alabama Constitution. We have a fundamental misunderstanding in our country that federal courts by their mere utterance make law. They do not, sir. They make law of the case, applicable to the parties before them." Two Alabama probate judges told the Chattanoogan Feb. 10 that they would not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. "I'm not going to be a party to it," Fred Hamic, probate judge in Geneva County in southeast Alabama, said of same-sex marriage. "I was raised in a Christian home and was taught it is a sin." Nick Williams, probate judge in Washington County north of Mobile, said he would not issue gay marriage licenses either, adding, "I'm not worried about following the U.S. Constitution." Granade stayed her original ruling legalizing gay marriage statewide until Feb. 9 while the appeals process moved forward. Both the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to extend the stay. Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia dissented from the decision not to grant an additional stay, with Thomas writing that the decision "may well be seen as a signal of the Court's intended resolution" of the gay marriage issue. The Alabama Supreme Court agreed Feb. 13 to consider a request by conservative groups to stop same-sex marriage in the state, WVTV in Birmingham reported. In response to the unfolding marriage situation, Rick Lance, executive director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, and state convention president Travis Coleman Jr. issued a statement posted on Lance's blog Feb. 10. "Alabama Baptists strongly support traditional marriage between one man and one woman only. We do not believe any other form of marriage is biblically sanctioned," Lance and Coleman, pastor of First Baptist Church in Prattville, said. "Our State Board of Missions has recently adopted a 'Resolution on the Reaffirmation of Biblical Marriage,' which reflects a strong consensus among Alabama Baptists. This belief has been faithfully taught and proclaimed by our churches and reflected in resolutions from our annual State Convention meetings and national SBC meetings as well. "The vast and overwhelming majority of Alabama Baptist leaders and other church members continue to affirm the biblical view of marriage and the historic declarations that Alabama Baptists have made concerning the marriage relationship. Therefore, any church that allows staff members to officiate at same-sex ceremonies is clearly outside biblical teachings about marriage and human sexuality, and they demonstrate that they are not in like-minded fellowship or friendly cooperation with Alabama Baptists and Southern Baptists," Lance and Coleman said. A volunteer minister at one church that cooperates with the Alabama Baptist State Convention has performed a same-sex wedding. Weatherly Heights Baptist Church in Huntsville confirmed to Baptist Press Feb. 10 that Ellin Jimmerson, minister to the community and a church member, had performed at least one same-sex wedding, but not on the church's property. Weatherly Heights Pastor David Freeman wrote in the church's newsletter Feb. 10 that he declined one request to officiate a gay wedding because the couple's "expectations did not align with my own." But he added that a group of the congregation's leaders had given him "the freedom to officiate a same sex marriage." "Since our church has not embraced a position on this issue, they felt like the service should not be done in our church or in our church's name," Freeman wrote. "It could be done in a home, wedding chapel, or another off campus location. I would be functioning as a Minister of the Gospel." Charlie Howell, director of missions for the Madison Baptist Association, with which Weatherly Heights cooperates, told the Huntsville Times that a meeting is scheduled the week of Feb. 16 between associational leaders and representatives of Weatherly Heights. "We're Baptists, so that means that each church is autonomous," Howell told the Times. "There's a lot of freedom there, but that doesn't mean anything goes. Our churches agree to cooperate and to serve together in unity, so this is not pleasant, what we're dealing with here. We're not going to back off the truth. The truth has got to prevail. And this is not just about one woman or one preacher. This teaching runs pretty deep down there [at Weatherly]." -------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Stand,' Floyd challenges SBC leaders by Diana Chandler Date: February 17, 2015 - Tuesday NASHVILLE (BP) –- The Southern Baptist Convention must stand for religious liberty and recruit congregations to the fold as God builds His church as promised in Matthew 16:18, SBC President Ronnie Floyd told the Executive Committee Monday (Feb. 16) in Nashville. Unless Southern Baptists stand, Floyd said during his message at the EC's semi-annual meeting, we will be as guilty as others who sat idle during unspeakable, historical atrocities against humanity. "Our number one goal that should never ever be compromised is to penetrate and push back the lostness in this world," he said, referencing reports of violent acts being carried out by ISIS terrorists. "As followers of Jesus Christ, if we do not choose to stand right now and speak up and challenge our nation's leaders -- challenge our business leaders to stand up, challenge our churches to stand up, challenge our political leaders to stand up, challenge our state leaders to stand up and every person in America to decry this tragedy," Floyd said, "we are just like those who turned their heads in World War II when six million Jews were being killed, or they turned their heads in the '50s and '60s and '70s when African American brothers and sisters and their churches were burned and persecuted and discriminated against all because of the color of their skin. "Those days were horrible, but prayerfully they're past, past, past," he said. "But we cannot turn our heads again." Floyd issued four challenges to Southern Baptists, drawing from the excitement of the denomination's blessings already realized. -- "How can you not be excited that we have one of the world's largest providers of Christian products and services, including Bibles, Bible studies, research, church music and supplies, and digital services, plus having almost 200 Christian bookstores in 28 states, and where ministry is happening right now in 120 countries of the world? -- "How can you not get excited about knowing that we have an excellent and influential diversified Christian financial services provider, offering retirement, insurance, investment management, property and casualty coverage, and executive planning products and services to the SBC and even the wider evangelical Christian community, as well as coming alongside of pastors and or their widows at times who have very little at all, but offer them dignity to their last breath, loving and caring for them, all because of their service to Jesus and to the churches of America? -- "How can you not be excited about knowing that our gifts from our churches through the Cooperative Program over the first four months that we're ahead by right at 5 percent above what we gave a year ago?" Floyd asked. -- "How can you not be excited, knowing that both of our missional offerings -- both our national offering and our international mission offering -- right now is above that [5 percent] compared to last year?" he asked. He challenged Southern Baptist leaders to fully promote and participate in the 2015 annual meeting and its preliminary activities June 13-17 in Columbus, Ohio; to tell the story of Southern Baptists with conviction and clarity, and to encourage other like-minded congregations to become Southern Baptists. "I believe strongly that our story is so strong in many ways presently, and our mission is becoming so clear that we are here to reach the world for Jesus Christ," Floyd said, "I believe there are churches all over America who have an interest in becoming a part of our network of churches called Southern Baptists. "Perhaps some in our convention or beyond may think we will become smaller in years to come but we will be better. Perhaps so, but none of us really know," said Floyd, now eight months into his presidency. "What if we begin to reach our goal of planting 1,500 churches annually for the next 10 years -- and we can see it [since] we're going 1,100 this year ... and what if we continually help our established churches in revitalization and we turn that death rate down just a little bit?" Floyd encouraged the committee to remain Kingdom focused, referencing the SBC's 170 years of service. "Unquestionably, our singular focus in our establishment must still be our singular focus today, mobilizing all our people from our network of over 50,000 churches and church-type missions to give their lives, their futures and their resources for the purpose of eliciting, combining and directing the energies of the Baptist denomination of Christians for the propagation of the Gospel," he said. "From time to time in our 170-year history, we may have veered away from this path. But I submit to you today that I am committed more than ever before and believe that you join me in this unwavering commitment that we must do all we can with all we are and with all we have to elevate, enlighten and execute this singular focus more now than ever before in our generation. Herein, I stand. And I pray that you will stand with me." Prayer, one of Floyd's priorities, was central to his address. He divided the gathering into groups of four, and led them in concerted prayer for persecuted Christians, President Obama and national leaders, and the Columbus annual meeting. "Pray for our brothers and sisters globally, as well as those who do not know the Lord, who are facing brutality, abuse and murder; let's ask God for this to cease, for a miracle to happen, and for leaders in the world [to] take decisive action now," Floyd said. "Pray right now for the president and the nation's leaders and the country in its need for God." He urged members to encourage God to bless the 2015 annual meeting, "to meet with us powerfully and to ignite us in an unprecedented way to reach the world for Christ." -------------------------------------------------------------------- Page: 'rest' & 'comfort' in following God's call by David Roach Date: February 17, 2015 - Tuesday NASHVILLE (BP) -- Promoting the Cooperative Program, building relationships with leaders at all levels of Baptist life and working to increase the involvement of ethnic minorities in the Southern Baptist Convention were among the activities of Frank S. Page in 2014, he reported to the SBC's Executive Committee Feb. 16. "Once in a while people ask me how I feel about this role," Page, the EC's president and CEO, said. "'Do you want to do something else?' sometimes people say to me. 'Don't you want to be a pastor again?' And I will tell them, in all honesty, I miss being a pastor. I do miss it. But listen to me: I am where I am by the call of God. And when you know you're where you ought to be in the call of God, there is a great rest and comfort that comes with that." Page outlined the work accomplished during the past year by each of the EC staff's six divisions, beginning with the office of the president. "I have done a lot of travelling," Page said, noting that he visited annual meetings of Baptist state conventions and local associations last fall. Page conducted "pastor listening sessions" across the country in 2014 attended by hundreds of Baptist leaders. To date he has hosted 18 such meetings with some 450 pastors, his accompanying written report stated. In 2015, Page said he has shifted his focus to "individual meetings with as many pastors" as possible. "Everywhere I go, I meet with those I might call game-changer pastors," Page said. "And I've already been meeting with a number and have several scheduled throughout 2015 from coast to coast." Working with the Asian American, Multiethnic, Mental Health and Small Church/Bivocational Church Advisory Councils continues to be a significant part of Page's work, he said. The Hispanic Advisory Council and the African American Advisory Council each have completed their work, and Page is attempting to implement their recommendations. The EC staff's Cooperative Program division, led by vice president Ashley Clayton, encourages churches "in Cooperative Program understanding and development and stewardship development as well," Page said. The average CP gift hit an all-time low in 2012 of 5.41 percent of a church's undesignated receipts but has increased to 5.50 percent, Page said. Beginning in 2015, Page will launch a 10-year CP promotion campaign called Great Commission Advance that will emphasize the importance of CP at every level of Southern Baptist life and conclude with the 100th anniversary of CP in 2025. Among the work of the EC staff's other four divisions: -- The office of convention advancement, led by vice president Ken Weathersby, "has been developing and implementing strategies for the involvement and participation of various ethnic groups and subset groups in our convention," Page said. In 1998, there were only 6,044 non-Anglo congregations cooperating with the SBC, Page said. But in 2013, there were 10,103. -- The office of convention finance, led by vice president Bill Townes, manages the CP Allocation Budget and the SBC Operating Budget among other responsibilities. For 2014-15, receipts came in at 97.42 percent of the CP Allocation Budget. Receipts for December 2014 and January 2015 indicate an increase in personal and church giving, Page said. -- The convention communications and relations office, led by vice president Roger S. Oldham, fields inquiries from the media, builds relationships with SBC entities and publishes both SBC LIFE and Baptist Press among other duties. BP published more than 2,200 news stories and first-person articles last year, Page said. -- The convention policy and operations office, led by executive vice president D. August Boto, oversees the EC's computer systems, provides legal and policy assistance to state conventions and SBC entities and manages litigation related to the SBC. "I work with a small but very capable staff," Page said. "And I thank God for each and every one of them." -------------------------------------------------------------------- Despite ice storm, Exec. Committee moves ahead by Art Toalston Date: February 17, 2015 - Tuesday NASHVILLE (BP) -- "Brrrrr," Hawaii pastor Chris Metcalf responded to the roll call Feb. 16 for the SBC Executive Committee's evening session in frozen Nashville. Metcalf, pastor of Lihue Baptist Church in Hawaii, was among 44 EC members who comprised a quorum to conduct business on behalf of the Southern Baptist Convention, which will hold its annual meeting June 16-17 in Columbus, Ohio. "Welcome to cold and frosty and snowy Nashville, Tenn.," EC chairman Mike Routt, lead pastor of Colorado Springs' Circle Drive Baptist Church, said in opening the EC meeting. "If you have one inch of snow, it shuts down the entire city," Routt quipped. "Denver had eight inches today and it's business as usual." The EC's quorum requirement is half of its 82 members -- plus one -- representing 34 state and multi-state regions throughout the nation. A state of emergency to deploy the National Guard was declared mid-afternoon on Feb. 16 as ice, sleet and snow gripped the region. Drivers on several interstates faced lengthy closures due to accidents -- one in which a mother and young child were killed by a tractor-trailer rig after stopping to help injured passengers in an overturned SUV. Dozens of accidents also were reported on secondary roads. EC officers and EC President Frank S. Page decided Sunday (Feb. 15) to move forward with the Feb. 16-17 sessions since members of the Cooperative Program Committee and a number of other EC members had arrived in Nashville that day. Canceled flights and treacherous road conditions prevented nearly 40 other EC members from traveling to Nashville during the day on Feb. 16. Once the meeting was underway, a sense of Baptist normalcy eased over the auditorium in the SBC Building, buoyed by Page conducting a resolute singing of "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" by EC members and other attendees -- including mission board presidents David Platt of the IMB and Kevin Ezell of NAMB and a number of state Baptist convention presidents and executive directors. SBC President Ronnie Floyd, in his message Monday night, drew from Jesus' words, "I Will Build My Church." Floyd challenged Southern Baptist leaders to build momentum for the upcoming annual meeting in Columbus; to tell "the compelling story" of Southern Baptists with conviction and clarity; to stand for religious freedom internationally amid onslaughts by ISIS against Christians and other Mideast minorities; and to encourage other like-minded congregations to become Southern Baptists. Floyd also continued his often-voiced yearning for spiritual awakening in America to reverse the nation's moral demise and to stir Christians to take the Gospel to the world's unreached masses. Noting the "Great Awakening" theme for the SBC annual meeting, Floyd said he knows of no other solution "than God coming down and meeting with us powerfully and miraculously like only God can do." Page, in his EC report, recounted the work of the EC staff's five divisions during 2014 and looked forward to the year ahead. He reported that a CP promotion campaign called Great Commission Advance will launch in 2015 and conclude at CP's 100th anniversary in 2025, while the work of various advisory councils continues in an effort to increase the involvement of ethnic and other subgroups in the SBC. In their business session the morning of Feb. 17, EC members approved several recommendations to the annual meeting, including: -- a new name, Gateway Seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention, from the former Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, in view of the seminary relocating its primary campus to the Los Angeles area from the San Francisco area. -- an amended North American Mission Board ministry statement to include planting churches overseas in agreed-upon instances with the International Mission Board, akin to an amended IMB ministry statement in 2011 to allow the IMB to assist with unreached people groups in the U.S. and Canada. EC members were told that the amended NAMB statement will relate particularly to military chaplains stationed at bases overseas. -- SBC bylaw amendments to allow for the potential use of electronic voting devices in the convention hall, after this year's meeting in Columbus, and to establish a quorum for voting on all matters of SBC business as those present at the time of a ballot. An expanded story about EC action on various business matters will appear in Baptist Press on Wednesday, Feb. 18.