The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-03/03/2016 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. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST-PERSON: Metro East & the SBC by Doug Munton Date: March 03, 2016 - Thursday O'FALLON, Ill. (BP) -- People from elsewhere are confused when I say I am from Illinois, near St. Louis. For many, Illinois means Chicago. But our state is much bigger than that. When James Eads built the first bridge across the Mississippi in 1874, downtown St. Louis was connected to Illinois as never before. We love Chicago, our giant city to the north, but much of our state is closer to St. Louis. If you live near enough, you know that our region is called Metro East. Let me tell you some of the Metro East story. The Metro East is five counties on the Illinois side of the river. With 700,000 residents, it's about one-fourth of the population of metropolitan St. Louis, which comes in at 2.8 million. It includes places like East St. Louis, Alton, Belleville, Edwardsville, Columbia, Collinsville, Fairview Heights and, yes, my town of O'Fallon. We are diverse, but sometimes segregated. For example, East St. Louis is 98 percent African American, while O'Fallon is 82 percent white. We are old towns, but there is a lot of new growth. Many of us work downtown, but new jobs are being created on our side of the river as well. And Scott Air Force Base has a large influence here. We have poverty and wealth. We have struggling churches and churches that are growing rapidly. We have challenges and opportunities. Our relationship with St. Louis is complex. We love the city, the sports teams (at least those who don't move away!) and the many things to see and do there. But we feel forgotten by the Missouri side. We go to the west side of the river often. They rarely come to the east side. We love and need St. Louis, but we identify closely with our own towns and schools. Our area has many Catholics, but Baptists have a strong influence as well. St. Louis was founded by French explorers and Catholic missionaries. About half of the people in St. Louis consider themselves religious because they have a Catholic background, but the other half don't claim to be anything. The first Baptist church in the state of Illinois was in a community called New Design. It was formed in 1786 near the Metro East city of Waterloo. Colonists traveled from Virginia and Kentucky to that spot near the Mississippi River. Among their number were two preachers, James Smith and David Badgley, who preached at New Design. The colony had more than 200 residents by 1800 and was the largest settlement in Illinois at the time. Since that day, Baptists have impacted the region with the message of the Gospel. Many of the strongest churches in the Illinois Baptist State Association are in Metro East and there are numerous new church plants here. When the Southern Baptist Convention comes to St. Louis this summer there will be many Metro East Baptists in attendance. We will work and host many of the events that precede the convention. Our churches are planning to host and participate in Crossover events during the weekend before the convention. And my wife Vickie is president of the Ministers' Wives luncheon that will be held on Tuesday of the convention week. She will be very busy! Okay, we get it. Metro East isn't Chicago. It isn't even St. Louis, exactly. But it is a great place to live and we have a great view of the Arch. And God is at work here, which we pray our fellow Southern Baptists will see in June. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Bible Study: March 6, 2016 by Staff/LifeWay Christian Resources Date: March 03, 2016 - Thursday NASHVILLE (BP) -- This weekly Bible study appears in Baptist Press in a partnership with LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through its Leadership and Adult Publishing team, LifeWay publishes Sunday School curricula and additional resources for all age groups. This week's Bible study is adapted from The Gospel Project curriculum. Bible Passages: Numbers 13:1-2, 26-33; 14:1-20 Discussion Questions: What characteristics of God did Moses mention when pleading for mercy? God could have displayed His power in judgment. Why do you think Moses asked for mercy? As the people's representative, Moses showed interest in what "the nations" would think if God destroyed the Israelites. How can the church show interest in seeing that the glory of God's forgiveness is known among the nations? Food for Thought: How did the Lord respond to the Israelites' faithlessness? He was ready to destroy them, until Moses began to intercede for his people. God was going to send a devastating plague among the Israelites and restart the building process of His great nation. As the Lord, He held the right to do as He pleased to fulfill His perfect will. So Moses appealed not to the Israelites' goodness but to God's greatness. He lifted up the name of God and reminded God of His character. Read Numbers 14:13-20. Moses stood before God as the representative for his people. He pleaded with God to show mercy so that the name of the Lord would be more widely known. Certainly, any work that God does proves His power, but Moses prayed that God would use this circumstance of the Hebrews' rebellion to display His power in His ability to forgive sin -- once again. Moses asked for God's forgiveness. Moses asked God to forgive "in keeping with the greatness of Your faithful love, just as You have forgiven them from Egypt until now" (v. 19). The forgiveness of our Heavenly Father is based on His love, not on our merit, penitent spirit or ability to straighten out our lives. When God immediately pardoned the sin of the Israelites, He mentioned nothing of their ability to keep covenant faithfulness. The good news given to us by God is that His forgiveness is based on His power, not on our abilities. When Moses stood before God and begged for mercy upon the people, he gave us a picture of what was to come. The people needed an advocate. They had one in Moses. The problem, however, was that Moses died and is still dead! This was a temporary advocacy by a temporary leader in a temporary time. We need a permanent solution. God's pardon finds its ultimate fulfillment not in the temporary circumstance of the Israelites standing on the edge of the promised land. Rather, we have found it in the journey Jesus made to the cross and the grave, and in rising from the dead. Only God in the flesh can be our perfect advocate. Jesus lived as we do so as to sympathize with our weaknesses. Israel would spend 40 years in the wilderness, wandering around in faithlessness. Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness being tempted by Satan, but unlike Israel, He passed the test. As the perfect representative, He gave the sacrifice we should give so as to grant salvation by His grace and through our faith. He rose from the dead, a state we cannot overcome, to defeat sin, death, hell and the Enemy. And now Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father to intercede for you and me every moment of our existence. Furthermore, because we have been fully represented before God by Jesus, we now are able to represent God before the people of the world who do not know Him. Today, our calling is not to conquer the nations but to take the Gospel to them. No matter if the obstacles make us feel like "grasshoppers," we trust that God's power is greater than our own and that He will give us all we need to accomplish His mission. The Gospel Project The Gospel Project is a Christ-centered curriculum that examines the grand narrative of Scripture and how the Gospel transforms the lives of those it touches. Through a three-year study plan, participants are immersed in the Gospel through stories, theological concepts, and calls to missions from Genesis to Revelation. Separate study plans for kids and students/adults ensure the proper focus and depth. The Gospel Project is designed to unify an entire church under a single Christ-centered curriculum. More information, free samples, and The Gospel Project blog can be found at gospelproject.com. Other ongoing Bible study options for all ages offered by LifeWay can be found at LifeWay.com/SundaySchool. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Depression, suicide draw focus of counseling conf. by Rachel Gaddis Date: March 03, 2016 - Thursday ARKADELPHIA, Ark. (BP) -- Encouraging those in attendance to adopt a "theology of life," Frank S. Page delivered the keynote address during a Christian counseling conf. that focused on depression. Ouachita Baptist University's Pruet School of Christian Studies hosted the sixth annual Conference on Issues in Christian Counseling at OBU on Feb. 26. Sponsored by Ouachita, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, the one-day conference brought together a total of 160 mental health professionals -- counselors, nurses and social workers -- and pastors from around the state to examine the issue of depression. A Christian theology on mental illness, mental health and suicide is needed, said Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee. "There are many people who are not darkening the doors of your church because of depression," he said. "Some feel like people in the church don't understand. Guess what? Many don't." Page shared his family's personal experience with both depression and suicide. Page is the author of several books, including "Melissa: A Father's Lessons from a Daughter's Suicide" that he wrote after his daughter took her own life in 2009. He also appointed a Mental Health Advisory Group in response to a motion on mental health ministry and a resolution on mental health concerns introduced at the 2013 SBC annual meeting. "We know suicide is a horrible experience," he said. "The pain that is left behind for family and friends is a pain that may deaden over time but never heals completely." Stating that the Bible deals with depression and suicide, Page referenced depression in Psalm 42 and seven biblical examples of suicide: Abimelek (Judges 9), Samson (Judges 16), King Saul and his armor bearer (1 Samuel 31), Ahithophell (2 Samuel 17), Zimri (1 Kings 16) and Judas (Matthew 27). Citing 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Page said, "The theology of life begins with a recognition that we do not belong to us. In our culture today, everyone teaches, 'You belong to you.' Well, that's not what we believe. A Christian theology promotes a stewardship of God's ownership of everything, including our own lives." Page also stressed the need to confront negative responses and bad theology and challenged mental health professionals and pastors to "minister the Word of God and God's comfort to those who are depressed and hurting." "Practice the ministry of presence," Page said. "Our Lord does not leave us, but sometimes that ministry is best performed by those in the helping community -- in church and in the medical professions and psychological professions. You are the hands and feet and heart of Jesus reaching out to those around you." Following Page's address, participants had the opportunity to choose from a variety of breakout sessions related to their field or interests. Session topics included ethical considerations with therapy-resistant clients, child sexual abuse, depression and counseling people of faith, pastoral care of the depressed person, cultural and social influences on depression and pharmacotherapeutic management of depression, among others. The National Board for Certified Counselors approved most of the breakout sessions for Continuing Education credit. Credit was available to licensed alcohol and abuse counselors, professional and marriage and family counselors; national career counselors; nursing professionals; and social work professionals. During the conference's lunch session Bill Viser, coordinator for the conference and professor of Christian ministries at Ouachita, reminded counselors of the importance of self-care. Titled "When Helping You Is Killing Me," Viser's session distinguished between burnout and depression and provided strategies to combat burnout. Participants were given time to talk about when they were most susceptible to burnout and their personal strategies for preventing it. "All we want to do is highlight something that can happen to any of us," Viser said. "If we don't practice good strategies, if we don't practice taking care of ourselves, it can and it will happen to us. We need all the good caregivers we can get in the field and don't want to lose any." This was Luther Harris' third year to attend the Conference on Issues in Christian Counseling. As a pastor and a chaplain for Life Touch Hospice in El Dorado, Ark., Harris encounters depression on a regular basis. Specifically in his role as a chaplain, he ministers to patients and their family members as they approach the end of life. "It makes it hard if they have not accepted that they are dying, and depression tends to take an overwhelming stake in their lives at that moment," Harris said. "Through this conference I've learned a great deal about how to approach it, what to look for -- and not just from the perspective of Life Touch, but from the perspective of a pastor." For Tami Montgomery, a licensed professional counselor with Arkansas Counseling and Psychodiagnostics in Arkadelphia, Ark., attending the conference for the first time has given her "a whole different perspective on depression." "It's refreshing for me that this is not a hellfire and brimstone perspective of depression," she said, "and that as Christians we do recognize that it exists." For more information about the conference, contact the Pruet School of Christian Studies at 870-245-5599. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Array of Baptists embrace presidential contenders by Art Toalston Date: March 03, 2016 - Thursday NASHVILLE (BP) -- The campaign trail is cutting an ever-widening swath through Southern Baptist notables. In short: -- Paige Patterson is among the Southern Baptists on a Ted Cruz religious liberty advisory board; R. Albert Mohler Jr. is on a Marco Rubio pro-life advisory board; and Rick Warren is on a Rubio religious liberty advisory board. -- Cruz has been endorsed by Jerry Johnson, president of National Religious Broadcasters, and by his Houston pastor, Gregg Matte of First Baptist Church. -- Donald Trump now has former candidate Mike Huckabee's daughter as one of his senior advisers. -- Ohio Gov. John Kasich has garnered endorsements from former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi and from Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley. Cruz advisory board The Ted Cruz campaign announced its 19-member religious liberty advisory board on March 1. In addition to Paige Patterson, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, the board includes Mark Harris, pastor of First Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C., and a former U.S. Senate candidate; Tony Beam, North Greenville University's vice president for student services and Christian worldview; and home rehab personalities David and Jason Benham. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council in Washington and a Southern Baptist, is the advisory board's chairman. Also on the board are Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, and Ryan Anderson, a senior research fellow with the Heritage Foundation. Rubio advisory boards The Marco Rubio campaign announced its 10-member pro-life advisory board on Jan. 19 and its 15-member religious liberty advisory board on Jan. 5. In addition to Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., the pro-life Rubio panel includes Abby Johnson, former Planned Parenthood director turned pro-life advocate; Ravi Zacharias, president of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries; Scott Klusendorf, president of the Life Training Institute; Francis Beckwith, professor of philosophy and church-state studies at Baylor University; and Steve Aden of the Alliance Defending Freedom serving as director of its Center for Life Alliances. In addition to Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California, the Rubio religious liberty panel, according to a report by WORLD Magazine in January, includes Thomas White, president of Cedarville University in Ohio; Wayne Grudem, research professor of theology and biblical studies with Phoenix Seminary; Thomas Kidd, distinguished professor of history and associate director of Baylor's Institute for Studies of Religion; and Doug Napier, executive vice president of the Alliance Defending Freedom. The Rubio religious liberty board also included Samuel Rodriguez, who was listed on the similar board with the Cruz campaign. A spokesperson for Rodriguez told Baptist Press on March 4, "His participation in the advisory boards is not an endorsement of the candidates, but rather an opportunity for him to weigh in on this critical issue being discussed by the campaigns." Trump & Huckabee Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's daughter Sarah Huckabee joined the Trump campaign as a senior adviser on Feb. 25, according to CNN, after the Huckabee presidential campaign was suspended in early February. Sarah Huckabee, in a statement quoted by CNN, said she "volunteered to join Mr. Trump's campaign because he is a champion of working families; not Washington-Wall Street elites." Trump "will break the grip of the donor class on our government and make it accountable to working families again," she said. On Super Tuesday (March 1), Mike Huckabee made Trump-related news when he admonished on the "Fox and Friends" morning show, "... don't pretend somehow that all these voters who have gone out and voted for him are stupid," The Hill reported. "They're not stupid ... they're angry." Huckabee, who has not endorsed Trump, is a former Fox News personality, Baptist pastor and president of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. Other endorsements -- Jerry Johnson, NRB president and a former president of Criswell College in Dallas and former administrator at Southern Seminary, endorsed Cruz in a two-minute YouTube video Feb. 29 titled "Why I'm voting for Ted Cruz in 2016." Johnson acknowledged his role with NRB in the video but stated that he was making the endorsement as an individual. -- Gregg Matte, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Houston where Cruz and his family are members, embraced Cruz's candidacy in a statement to the campaign initially in December which was recirculated on Matte's Facebook page in late February. "We all know Senator Cruz as a brilliant, strong, and confident leader, unswervingly handling the Constitution with respect and wisdom," Matte, a former president of the SBC Pastors' Conference, said. "But I also know him as a husband, father, and friend. Ted Cruz is in touch with the normal routines of everyday life while also being outstanding in dealing with the complex issues of our day. This combination of character and competence gives me confidence that, under Ted's leadership, America can once again head in the right direction." -- Rubio's campaign website lists the endorsements of former Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn and Hobby Lobby founder David Green. -- In January, much-publicized pro-Trump comments were voiced by Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, but not a formal endorsement, while Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University, endorsed the New York tycoon and TV personality. Critical assessments of Trump, meanwhile, have been frequently voiced by Russell Moore, president of the SBC's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission who has not endorsed a candidate or otherwise openly identified with a candidate. -- Ohio Gov. John Kasich's campaign in Mississippi is being chaired by Andy Taggart, a member of the Jackson-area Broadmoor Baptist Church and former executive director of the Mississippi Republican Party who also served as a chief of staff for former Gov. Kirk Fordice. A Kasich news release also listed the endorsements of Baptist church members Trent Lott, U.S. senator from Mississippi from 1988-2007, and Robert Bentley, Alabama's current governor. On Super Tuesday, Trump prevailed in seven states; Cruz in three; Rubio in one. -------------------------------------------------------------------- His 'mess' became his message by T. A. Powell Date: March 03, 2016 - Thursday GLEN ALLEN, Va. (BP) -- It was on Saturday morning, Jan. 3, 2004, when I confessed to my dear wife Betty that I had committed adultery -- a seven-month affair with one of her best friends. She fell to her knees in disbelief. It was as if I had reached inside her heart and ripped it out. The pain was almost unbearable. Life had reached its darkest day for me -- it was truly the worst day of my life. Immediately, life had changed, and everything began to take a different direction for us as we tried to somehow deal with this dreadful situation I had caused. For almost 26 years, I had been the senior pastor of a Tidewater, Va., church. We loved our people, and most all of our friends and a lot of our family members were in some way connected to that ministry. On that same evening I called a special deacons meeting and confessed to them my affair. Most of them wept in disbelief. I told them that the next day I would go before my congregation and come clean with them also. I did and also resigned. The news spread like lightening throughout the city and surrounding areas. The guilt and shame was overwhelming for me. The thought crossed my mind that death would have been a welcomed event. I had disappointed and broken trust with so many people. Within seven days of my confession, at the invitation of pastor Johnny Hunt, Betty and I pulled into the parking lot of First Baptist Church, Woodstock, Ga., to enter the City of Refuge, a ministry for pastors and full-time Christian workers who have been burnt out, forced out, or have struggled with some addiction or immorality. For 17 months, Betty and I received intense counseling and encouragement, which started a new journey of trust, transparency and vulnerability in our lives. In addition to that, the sweet people at First Baptist loved on us and offered us grace, safety and love like we had never experienced in our entire lives. We were loved unconditionally. It was during that time that my dear wife offered me unconditional grace, forgiveness, love and renewed trust. Our marriage and our home environment slowly became truly a place of genuine love, openness and transparency. The above is only a thumbnail of my 12-year journey, and I share it openly because pastors and church leaders (as well as laymen) are struggling with addictions and sexual sins. The fallout is at epidemic levels. We hear about it almost weekly, and there is very little help offered for pastors and churches who are experiencing such adversities. I am a blessed and grateful man who realizes that God has strategically placed people and circumstances in my journey to help me understand what biblical grace is all about. My mess has become my message. I never want to forget the pain and disillusionment that I caused my wife, my family, my church and my friends; however, my past no longer defines me. My vision and desire are to see the entire body of Christ understand grace, spiritual freedom, and healthy living out of our identity in Jesus Christ as mature Christ followers. EDITOR'S NOTE: For more information about City of Refuge go to http://www.fbcw.org/community/city-of-refuge/. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Divided court weighs abortion rules by Tom Strode Date: March 03, 2016 - Thursday WASHINGTON (BP) -- State legislators seeking to hold abortion providers responsible for the protection of women should soon learn where they stand for the time being with the country's highest court. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday (March 2) regarding a Texas law that regulates abortion doctors and clinics. The division among the justices seemed clear on the measure's dual requirements -- an abortion doctor must have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital in case a woman needs emergency admission and an abortion clinic must meet the health and safety standards of other walk-in surgical centers. The typical breach on the high court over abortion is intensified and complicated by the absence of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, a reliable advocate for state restrictions on the procedure. Scalia's death in mid-February appears to leave supporters of the Texas law with a 4-4 split as their best hope -- an assumption the oral arguments did nothing to undermine. The high court's liberal bloc -- Associate Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan -- demonstrated strong skepticism about the law, while other justices appeared much more open to Texas' action. As is often the case, Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, typically the court's swing vote, seems to hold the decisive vote -- in this case, just to gain a tie. Clarke Forsythe, acting president and senior counsel of Americans United for Life, told Baptist Press after attending the oral arguments, "I don't see either side getting five votes, though it's possible that Kennedy could vote to send the case back down for more findings. "I can't say with confidence whether the court will send the case back down or vote 4-4, but I thought that Justice Kennedy asked questions that suggested that he might vote to affirm the lower court's decision," Forsythe said in written comments for BP. If the court were to divide evenly, it would mean the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals' decision upholding the state law would be, in legal terms, "affirmed by an equally divided court." The ruling would remain in effect in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, but it would not establish a precedent and not be controlling in the rest of the states. A tie or a decision to return the case to a lower court for further findings, something Kennedy suggested during arguments as an option, would "chill" state efforts, Forsythe said. "If the court just sends back for further findings, it may 'chill' what other states can do in 2016-2017," Forsythe told BP, adding a tie "will 'chill' what other states can do, because we'll be in limbo without a definitive [Supreme Court] ruling." The justices could announce a 4-4 tie as early as next week, if that is the outcome in their conference March 4, Forsythe said. In its past abortion decision-making, the high court has permitted states to regulate aspects of abortion practice to protect the lives and health of women. The standard provided by the justices in determining whether a restriction is constitutional is whether a law is an "undue burden" on a woman seeking an abortion. The justices adopted that test in their 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey opinion. Twenty-two states have enacted laws that require abortion doctors to have admitting privileges and/or transfer agreements with hospitals, according to the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC). The number of states that have requirements for abortion clinics similar to those of ambulatory surgical centers is also 22, the Guttmacher Institute has reported. Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), said he is praying the court will rule "in favor of women and families by upholding laws that protect them." "The goal of Texas' common-sense measures is keeping abortion providers accountable," Moore said in written comments for BP. "That basic health standards would become a politically divisive issue simply demonstrates how politically protected the abortion lobby is." After Texas enacted the law, which requires a physician to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles, the number of abortion clinics in the state dropped from about 40 to about 20. It is expected the number will fall to fewer than 10 if the law is upheld by the high court. With Scalia's former chair in the courtroom draped in black, lawyers for the abortion clinics described the Texas law as incompatible with the standard set in Casey, and liberal members of the court seemed to concur. Meanwhile, Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito questioned what evidence in the record there was the clinic closings were caused by the law. Stephanie Toti, senior counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights and lawyer for the challengers, told the court the regulations "undermine the careful balance struck in Casey between states' legitimate interests in regulating abortion and women's fundamental liberty to make personal decisions about their pregnancies. They are unnecessary health regulations that create substantial obstacles to abortion access." U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, arguing on behalf of the Obama administration for the abortion clinics, said the measure's effects "are much more extreme than those of any abortion law that this court has considered since Casey." Scott Keller, solicitor general for Texas, told the justices Texas "acted to improve abortion safety.... Abortion is legal and accessible in Texas. All the Texas metropolitan areas that have abortion clinics today will have open clinics if the court affirms, and that includes the six most populous areas of Texas." Members of the court's liberal bloc questioned the need for a law to mandate such health and safety standards. Keller pointed to Planned Parenthood's acknowledgment that an average of 210 women a year need hospitalization after an abortion -- a number which seemed unconvincing in scope to some justices. Meanwhile, Alito cited the report in a friend-of-the-court brief submitted to the court that showed Whole Woman's Health, a business that operates seven abortion clinics in the state, was found with "really appalling violations when they were inspected: Holes in the floor where rats could come in, the lack of any equipment to adequately sterilize instruments." James Bopp, NRLC's general counsel, told BP outside the court after oral arguments, "[T]he problem is that we have back-alley abortion clinics that are operating legally throughout the country, and they're putting profit ahead of women's health and lives with terrible practices.... I mean the inspections that have occurred in these clinics have demonstrated horrendous practices, but some people are so fixated and ideologically committed to abortion that they don't even care if women are also a victim, as well as the unborn child. "[D]efending these substandard clinics against customary health and safety requirements that any surgical procedure should meet just demonstrates that they are so intent on taking the unborn's life that they don't even care how many victims there are that are women." The ERLC and the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (SBTC) joined four other groups in a friend-of-the-court brief that urged the justices to affirm the Texas law. The Christian Life Commission of the Missouri Baptist Convention signed onto another brief in support of the requirements. A large group of pro-life supporters and an even larger crowd of abortion-rights advocates jammed the sidewalk in front of the Supreme Court building before, during and after the arguments. The case is Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt. -------------------------------------------------------------------- IMB's Platt looks forward after 'reset' by David Roach Date: March 03, 2016 - Thursday RICHMOND, Va. (BP) -- Following an "organizational reset" that saw more than 1,100 International Mission Board personnel transition away from the board, President David Platt told a March 3 live stream audience he is ready to focus on the future. "I really want to shift the conversation from talking about numbers and finances to talking about how this army of brothers and sisters going out specifically from Southern Baptist churches across North America can make the Gospel known among the nations," Platt told an online audience that included viewers on more than 1,000 electronic devices. Platt acknowledged "there has been and continues to be in the IMB family ... and the broader SBC family a kind of grieving process" associated with seeing hundreds of missionaries and stateside staff shift to other ministry fields. Southern Baptists are "continually wrestling through" implications of that transition even as they focus on fulfilling the Great Commission going forward. In an hour-long livestream event that included viewer questions submitted via Twitter, Platt listed five "primary desires" that drive the IMB in its ongoing work: -- A desire to exalt Christ -- A desire to mobilize ordinary Christians -- A desire to serve and equip local churches -- A desire to facilitate church planting -- A desire for the 46,000-plus Southern Baptist churches to each play their part in accomplishing the Great Commission. The SBC's program of international missions, Platt said, can be envisioned as a "three-legged stool" whose legs represent missionaries, local churches and the IMB. Local churches send and continually encourage missionaries while the IMB leads those missionaries to play specific roles in a coordinated global strategy to evangelize the world's 6,000 unreached people groups. The path forward in sharing Christ is "going to cost people's lives, futures, plans [and] dreams," Platt said. But believers take the Gospel even to lands where terrorists oppose it and seek their lives, he said, "because there was a day when all of us were totally opposed to the glory or our God. We were running from Him in rebellion against Him, and He came running after us. In His mercy, God pursued us to the sacrifice of His only Son. "So now it just makes sense for all those who are hidden in Him ... to go to the most radically rebellious against the Gospel and to proclaim it in the grace and the love of Christ, knowing it will cost us, but believing it will be totally worth it," Platt said. To help churches fulfill the Great Commission, Platt noted two forthcoming IMB resources: a six-week course for small groups and a six-month curriculum on cross-cultural disciple making. Additionally, "Missions Intensive" training events will help pastors and other leaders transform their churches into "global missions sending center[s]." The IMB's Global Cities initiative is in a pilot phase that seeks to help ordinary believers find ways to plant their lives in major world cities to make disciples there, Platt said. Among the cities Platt listed are Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, London and Shanghai -- each of which provides missionary platforms for professionals, families, singles, retirees, entrepreneurs and students. By going overseas in such capacities, Southern Baptists can become part of what Platt called a "limitless" missionary force that includes more than just fully-funded IMB personnel. As this army of Christians plants churches among unreached people groups, the IMB will do all it can to ensure those congregations are biblical and healthy, Platt said. "The missionary task is not just evangelism -- lead them to Christ and get out," he said. Rather, it is "lead people to Christ; see them baptized and gathered together in a church; see leaders trained up in that church so that now the church can be led by pastors who are shepherding that church well, and the church is now involved in sending people to missions. "The missionary task carries all that," Platt said, "which necessitates a focus not just on the planting of the church but the health of the church." Small and large Southern Baptist churches alike are called to participate in the Great Commission worldwide, Platt said, and the IMB stands ready to help them all. "The potential exists in every single church no matter what size -- 13 or 13,000 -- to send somebody," he said. "If that's the case, then how much more the beauty of how this picture in the Southern Baptist Convention works, because no one church can do this alone."