The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-04/10/2015 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. -------------------------------------------------------------------- They became Cooperative Program advocates by Karen L. Willoughby Date: April 10, 2015 - Friday EDITOR'S NOTE: Cooperative Program Sunday is April 12 in the Southern Baptist Convention. KENOSHA, Wis. (BP) -- Ohio native Lenard Tavernelli didn't know a thing about Southern Baptists. He was reared in the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches, part of a conservative split in 1932 from the former Northern Baptist Convention (now the American Baptist Churches USA). But Tavernelli's awareness of the SBC began to change on his first day at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he enrolled in 2004 because friends from college were studying at the Louisville, Ky., campus. On his first day of orientation, Tavernelli and the entire incoming class received several hours of information about the Cooperative Program, its history, purpose and effectiveness. "I started being a Southern Baptist that day," Tavernelli said. Shortly thereafter, he found a Southern Baptist church home, and ever since he's been an advocate of the way Southern Baptists cooperate together for the sake of the Gospel. Today he's pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church in Kenosha, Wis., which gives 11 percent of undesignated offerings for missions and ministry through CP. "Jesus calls us in Matthew 28 to go into all the world and make disciples," Tavernelli said. "We as the church … can't do that alone. We can't even disciple all of America, let alone the entire world. We're called to fulfill the Great Commission, in the spirit of the Great Commandment. The Cooperative Program helps us do that." The Cooperative Program is the way Southern Baptists work together for the expansion of God's Kingdom. Churches decide how much they will contribute, either a dollar amount or a percentage of undesignated offerings. Part of CP stays in the state convention for its missions and ministries, in a percentage voted on at each state convention's annual meeting. The rest goes through the SBC Executive Committee, which distributes CP according to a formula voted on at the SBC's annual meeting. A teen's recollection For Adam Blosser, the words "Cooperative Program" didn't resonate until years after he began hearing them. "I suppose I heard about the Cooperative Program all my life, but the first I remember hearing about it, I was a teenager," Blosser, pastor of Drakes Branch (Va.) Baptist Church, told Baptist Press. "The first time I understood it was when I went to seminary, and CP paid half my tuition." "We believe the Cooperative Program is the best way for us to fund missions and theological education," Blosser said. "We believe in the work that the [International and North American mission boards] are doing for the sake of the Gospel, and our church has benefitted greatly from the work of the Southern Baptist seminaries in training pastors. "We want to give generously that the Kingdom of God may advance," the pastor continued. "Christ will build His church. We want to be part of that. We want to be counted faithful with the little." Pastor to pastor Relationships with other pastors taught Paul Kim, pastor of Good Community Church in Torrance, Calif., about the Cooperative Program. Good Community Church, which began in 1991, focused most of its missions efforts on helping other Korean churches and missionaries. They responded to the needs of their countrymen who didn't have the undergirding support of a major denomination, while giving a small amount to missions through the Cooperative Program. But as Kim's relationships grew with other pastors and leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention, he became aware that Good Community Church didn't have a good accountability system for all its missions support. Kim came to realize the SBC provided the accountability, financial integrity, missions zeal and doctrinal purity the church wanted to be part of, and he directed the church to work primarily through the Cooperative Program and the SBC's IMB and NAMB. Once Kim refocused the church on missions, both through the Cooperative Program and missions opportunities locally, statewide and globally, the Good Community congregation began to grow. It doubled in size, from 500 to 1,000, in Sunday morning worship, and increased its CP support of missions from an annual $1,200 to $33,000. "As we learn more, we give more," said David Yoon, the church's English language pastor. "As we do more, we give more. The Cooperative Program is the way we all work together in obedience to Jesus' last command, the Great Commission: 'As you go, make disciples of all nations.'" For the 2015 church year in the Southern Baptist Convention, 50.41 percent of what is sent to the Executive Committee is forwarded on to the International Mission Board; 22.79 percent to the SBC's North American Mission Board; 22.16 percent to the SBC's six theological seminaries and the Historical Library and Archives; 1.65 percent to the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission; and 2.99 percent for the SBC operating budget. In the 2014 SBC Books of Reports, the IMB reported supporting more than 4,800 missionaries, who were involved in starting 6,200 churches and more than 114,000 baptisms; NAMB was involved in starting 936 congregations across North America; the SBC's six seminaries had 15,993 Southern Baptist students, with total enrollment at 18,259; and the ERLC, in numerous ways, promoted Southern Baptist views on ethics and morals 1,200 times. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Once a fishing guide, now a CP-committed pastor by Karen L. Willoughby Date: April 10, 2015 - Friday EDITOR'S NOTE: Cooperative Program Sunday is April 12 in the Southern Baptist Convention. WATER VALLEY, Ky. (BP) -- Jimmy Brown trusts the Lord whenever he goes fishing, whether the fishing hole is filled with lake water or the silt of an undredged life. "I had never realized the similarities between fishing, soul-winning and pastoring," said Brown, a former professional fishing guide on Kentucky Lake who has been pastor of Pilot Oak Baptist Church in western Kentucky since 2007. Fishing may be fun but it's also "hard work ... work you have to be persistent at," he said. Brown, who often speaks on fishing at outdoorsmen's events and pastors' conferences, has come to see numerous parallels between fishing for fish and fishing for people. Evangelism, discipleship & missions Pilot Oak, a rural church that averages about 100 in Sunday morning worship, baptized 13 people in 2013, and 18 the year before that, although the baptism total for 2014 was a bit lower. "We have to take time to disciple those we win," Brown said. "A lot of people like to fish, but don't want to clean them." Similarly, he said, "If I reach people but don't disciple them, what have I accomplished? ... When we win someone to the Lord, that's when the hard work begins. We need to get them established in the faith so they become productive, reproducing Christians." Brown also challenged Graves County Baptist Association, of which Pilot Oak Baptist is a part, to greater missions efforts. Since Brown became captain of the association’s missions and ministry team last year, they've gone on the first associational mission trip that he's aware of. "I began to talk it up, and last year we went to Muskogee, Okla.," Brown said. "We did construction and a VBS at the Murrow Children's Home, led a backyard Bible club, surveyed for one church, and painted for another church," he said. The team also did cleaning and organizational work at Bacone College, a liberal arts college originally established by the American Baptist Home Mission Society in 1880 to provide Christian education for Native Americans. "The more involved we get in doing missions," Brown said, "the stronger our churches here will become." Biblical stewardship For several years prior to his arrival, Pilot Oak had reduced its Cooperative Program missions giving to $1,000 per year. Brown began reminding the church that the Cooperative Program is how Southern Baptist churches work together to fulfill the Great Commission through their state conventions, across North America and around the world. The money they give to missions through the Cooperative Program, he noted, extends Pilot Oak's reach far beyond what the church could do on its own. "The first meeting I had with the finance committee, I asked them if they thought people should tithe, and they all said yes," Brown recounted. "Then I asked them, 'Do you not think your church should tithe?'" As the church prepared its 2009 budget, Brown led them to dedicate 3 percent of their undesignated offerings through the Cooperative Program, 2 percent to the Graves County Baptist Association and 5 percent for local benevolence “to minister to people in our community whether they're members or not," Brown said. The CP percentage has increased a bit each year. Pilot Oak gave $1,000 in 2008. Five years later -- in 2013 -- it gave $13,744 through CP and $22,257 in total Great Commission Giving, according the church's Annual Church Profile report. Brown reported the church gave 19.5 percent of its income to some type of cooperative ministry in 2014 and has raised its 2015 CP budget projection to 5.5 percent of undesignated receipts. Members also began giving generously to Southern Baptists' seasonal missions offerings. Last year the church received a congratulatory letter from Kevin Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board. "We were the top per capita giving church for the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering in the entire Southern Baptist Convention," Brown said. "We read it over and over and, yep, that's what it says. "I told [the church], 'You are to be commended, but don't stop,'" the pastor said. "They're beginning to catch on about being Kingdom-focused." Local ministry Last year, Pilot Oak bought a tool trailer to do construction missions, and has become known in its community as "the church that cares" because of its commitment to meeting local needs -- whether it may be an unpaid electric bill, the need for a handicap ramp into someone's house or some other pressing need. By identifying with the residents of its rural farming community and being ready to help, members of Pilot Oak have become alert to seeing where God is at work and joining Him, Brown said, citing Henry Blackaby's principle from "Experiencing God." "You've got to be willing to do whatever it takes to earn the right to tell them about Jesus," Brown said. Just like in fishing, "it takes time, effort, energy ... [but] when you do it like the Lord wants you to do it, it's not hard.... "You've got to go out with the intention that we're going to have fun; we're going to fish all day, and at some time during the day we're going to catch fish," he said. "So just relax, fish, and enjoy it. God is going to give you fruits for your labor." -------------------------------------------------------------------- UMobile grad is NFL full-time female official by Matthew Hicks Date: April 10, 2015 - Friday MOBILE, Ala. (BP) -- The NFL's first full-time female game official, Sarah Thomas, is a former University of Mobile athlete. Thomas, who played basketball at UMobile from 1992-95, will be a line judge for the 2015 season. Based on performance, she will have the opportunity to move into other roles, including the highest position of referee. The NFL made the formal announcement April 8, capping days of speculation by sports media outlets. UMobile athletics officials said Thomas, a 1995 graduate of the Alabama Baptist university, had always performed at the highest levels and shown the determination to succeed at anything she undertook. "We are honored that one of our former athletes is achieving the highest level in her profession," UMobile athletics director Joe Niland said. During Thomas' three seasons with the Lady Rams, the team won 61 games, including two seasons with a 13-3 record in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference. Thomas helped guide the 1992-93 team to a GCAC district championship and a berth in the NAIA National Championship tournament. She also was a two-time GCAC All-Academic selection. For her career, Thomas totaled 779 points, 411 rebounds, 108 assists and 192 steals, the latter stat ranking fifth all-time at UMobile. Martha Gore-Algernon, an assistant women's basketball coach during Thomas' UMobile playing career, praised her former player's work ethic. "I'm not surprised she's made it this far," Gore-Algernon said. "She didn't set out to do this, but she just worked hard at it and they took notice of her. It couldn't happen to a nicer person. She was a great player to coach." Thomas became the first female to officiate college football games in 2007 and the first female to officiate a bowl game in 2009. Thomas decided to become an official in the 1990s after attending a coaching meeting with her brother. She became the first female to officiate a Division 1-A high school football game in Mississippi in 1996. Having former athletes succeed in the professional sports world isn't new for the University of Mobile. Former UMobile baseball players J.C. Romero, Joe Espada, Saul Rivera and Kyle McPherson all reached the Major Leagues, with Espada currently serving as the New York Yankees' third base coach. Former UMobile men's soccer player Michael Azira plays for the Seattle Sounders of the MLS while another former Ram, Ram Deshorn Brown, recently was transferred from the Colorado Rapids to the Valerenga soccer team in Oslo, Norway. Former women's soccer players Anne Stangeland-Horpestad and Danielle Small faced each other in the 2007 Women's World Cup, playing for Norway and Australia, respectively. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Gospel, politics to draw focus of ERLC conf. by Staff Date: April 10, 2015 - Friday NASHVILLE (BP) -- Engaging politics from a Gospel perspective will be the focus of the second national conference sponsored by the Southern Baptist Convention's ethics entity. The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) will present "The Gospel and Politics" as a one-day event Aug. 5 in Nashville. The conference, scheduled for the downtown Music City Center, is designed to equip pastors, other church leaders and church members in preparation for the 2016 presidential election. Addressing politics from a scriptural basis is needed, said ERLC President Russell Moore. "Many churches and church leaders are tired of the screaming and warring that too often characterizes conversations about politics," Moore said in an April 2 news release from the ERLC. "Some are asking if we cannot just bow out of contentious political debates and focus on teaching the Romans Road of Salvation. But Christian engagement of politics is about much more than winning arguments: it's also about loving our neighbors and winning them to the kingdom of Christ." Moore added, "Christians often instinctively know that politics matter but don't know how to respond in a way that is faithful to the Gospel. What we want to talk about is how Christians can understand the way the truths of the Bible intersect with social and political needs. We want to empower pastors and church members to lead out in their communities with a Jesus-centered and neighbor-loving vision of public policy." The announced conference speakers so far are Moore and Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. The ERLC conference will be held the day after the North American Mission Board's SEND North America Conference, which is set for Aug. 3-4 at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. The International Mission Board is partnering with NAMB this year on the SEND Conference. Registration for the SEND and ERLC conferences as a package is available at http://sendconference.com/nashville/. A reduced cost for the ERLC event is available by bundling registration for the conferences. Information solely on the ERLC conference and its registration may be accessed at http://erlc.com/conference2015. The ERLC is continuing its pattern since Moore became president in 2013 of hosting both a leadership summit and a national conference each year. The entity sponsored a leadership summit on racial reconciliation March 26-27. While the spring summit targets church leaders, the national conference held later in the year addresses a wider Christian audience. Last year, the ERLC sponsored a leadership summit on human sexuality in April and a national conference titled "The Gospel, Homosexuality and the Future of Marriage" in October. Next January, the ERLC will join Focus on the Family as primary sponsors of Evangelicals for Life, a major evangelical, pro-life conference in conjunction with the annual March for Life. The event -- which will be co-sponsored by other organizations -- will be held Jan. 21-22 in Washington, D.C. The main sessions of the ERLC conference in August will be live-streamed at erlc.com. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Ohio's rich Southern Baptist history by David Roach Date: April 10, 2015 - Friday COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) -- "The ripest field for Southern Baptist work in the U.S.A." That's how Ray Roberts, who would become the first executive secretary of the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio, described the Buckeye state in 1952. Over the next six decades, Roberts and other Ohio Southern Baptists proved the ripeness of their field by planting hundreds of churches, establishing three other Baptist state conventions in pioneer areas, building a network of Baptist ministries and leading untold thousands to faith in Christ. As Southern Baptists converge on Ohio this summer (June 16-17) for the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting in Columbus, current SCBO executive director Jack Kwok said they will find a mission field that's riper than ever. "We're not the only people here preaching the Gospel, but Southern Baptists take the Great Commission seriously, that we're to go to every people group," Kwok told Baptist Press, noting that "well over 50 percent" of Ohio's 11.5 million residents do not regard themselves as affiliated with any faith group. "People are lost here, and Southern Baptists are taking the Gospel to everybody," Kwok said. The history of Southern Baptists in Ohio dates to the 1930s, when Baptists from the South began to migrate north across the Ohio River. Many felt "ill at ease in the Ohio churches they attended" because "worship was not as 'warm,' the invitations as frequent and fervent, the sermons as simple in the presentation of the Gospel as they were accustomed to back home," historian L.H. Moore wrote in "The History of Southern Baptists in Ohio." So transplanted Southern Baptists began to establish churches. In many cases, those churches cooperated with Baptist associations in Kentucky. Then in 1940, churches in Indiana and Ohio founded the White Water Baptist Association. The association engaged in aggressive church planting in Ohio, erecting buildings in towns where no Baptist church existed and then finding workers to establish missions. The association urged congregations to give 25 percent of their undesignated receipts to the Kentucky Baptist Convention for investment through the Cooperative Program, Southern Baptists' unified method of funding missions and ministries in North America and across the globe. The number of Southern Baptists in Ohio increased through the early 1950s, but some worried that ministries funded by the SBC would violate so-called comity agreements of the late 1800s stipulating that only Northern Baptists could sponsor home missions in the Buckeye state. In 1951, however, the SBC adopted a recommendation from its Committee on Relations with Other Religious Bodies that "the Home Mission Board and all other Southern Baptist boards and agencies be free to serve as a source of blessing to any community or any people anywhere in the United States." Northern Baptists likewise had expanded their ministries nationwide and changed their name to the American Baptist Convention. The SBC's shift in home missions strategy set the stage for 39 churches to establish the SCBO in 1954 with financial support from the HMB, a precursor organization to the North American Mission Board, and the Baptist Sunday School Board, which later changed its name to LifeWay Christian Resources. The Ohio convention's first president, John Kurtz, told BP Ohio Southern Baptists committed to "stand on the Gospel and preach the Word." Early Ohio Southern Baptists "just wanted to preach the Gospel as it is and preach Christ as the Savior to all who would trust Him," Kurtz, 94, said from a retirement home in Nashville. The SCBO's emphasis on church planting yielded 100 cooperating churches by 1957, 200 by 1960, 300 by 1964 and 400 by 1968. Some of those churches were in other states, and the SCBO helped found three sister state conventions -- the West Virginia Convention of Southern Baptists, the Baptist Convention of Pennsylvania-South Jersey and the Baptist Convention of New York. When Kwok began his tenure as the convention's fourth executive director in 1996, the SCBO had approximately 500 churches, a number that has swelled to more than 700 today. The convention's "Mission Ohio" strategy calls for 2,020 congregations by 2020. NAMB has named Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati "Send Cities" as part of its Send North America church planting emphasis. Ohio's increasingly diverse population has affected both the SCBO's evangelistic strategy and the ethnic composition of its leadership. In the mid-1990s, 85 percent of the state's population was Anglo, 11 percent black and 4 percent other races, Kwok said. But demographics have shifted -- particularly in urban areas. For example, Columbus residents were only 62 percent Anglo in 2013, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. "Our outreach has been to all people," Kwok said. "Our logo reflects that. We have the SBC logo and red, brown, yellow, black and white figures around that to communicate that we're here to reach all people." Two African Americans have served as SCBO president while Hispanics and Asians have also made significant contributions to the convention, Kwok said. David Gray, an African American who served as SCBO president from 2006-08, called the state's diverse population a "microcosm of at least the Midwest if not the nation." "The State Convention of Baptists in Ohio has a wide range of ethnicities that have done really wonderful things for God," Gray, pastor of First Baptist Church in Garrettsville, told BP. "They have been a part of the process of the state convention growing and have worked together with a broad spectrum of Southern Baptists to truly see growth in the Kingdom." Ohio Southern Baptists have been pioneers in planting churches on college and university campuses and have a rich history of community ministries, Kwok said. The convention's support of SBC missions and ministries has increased from 20 percent of CP receipts in 1954 to 40.25 percent in 2014-15. "Reaching the lost people of Ohio is a tremendous opportunity, and we're just thrilled to be a part of it," Kwok said. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Researchers develop pacemaker for unborn babies by Courtney Crandell/WORLD News Service Date: April 10, 2015 - Friday ASHEVILLE, N.C. (BP) -- A team of researchers has developed the first pacemaker small enough to implant in an unborn baby's heart, potentially offering an effective treatment for congenital heart blocks. Though doctors can diagnose congenital heart blocks in utero, they've lacked an effective solution. Cardiologists have attempted to treat the defect with a modified adult pacemaker. They implanted part of the device in the baby's heart while the rest of the device remained external. But the method continually failed, likely because babies' movements would dislodge the pacemaker's electrodes. The new device's size eliminates that problem. The researchers at Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) and the University of Southern California (USC) estimate the technology could aid up to 500 babies each year. "This novel device provides a real opportunity to prevent miscarriage and premature birth in babies affected with these abnormalities," Ramen H. Chmait, director of the CHLA-USC Institute for Maternal-Fetal Health, said. Experts estimate congenital heart blocks occur in 1 out of 10,000 babies. In a healthy heart, an electrical signal moves between the upper and lower heart chambers causing the heart to contract and pump blood. But if a baby has a congenital heart block, the signal is interrupted and the baby's heart rate slows. The device has passed preclinical testing and optimization. And the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved it for use in humans, the journal Heart Rhythm reported. The research team expects the pacemaker will be implanted in an unborn baby soon. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST-PERSON: People, churches, stewardship & CP by John Yeats Date: April 10, 2015 - Friday EDITOR'S NOTE: April 12 is Cooperative Program Sunday in the Southern Baptist Convention. JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (BP) -- Our nation once rode the wave of expansive optimism and blessed economic prosperity. Now we appear to be trying to find our place in line with the long list of mediocre economies that were corrupted by greed, injustice and violations of biblical conscience. Yet, in the scheme of things we are still immensely blessed in comparison to the rest of the world. According to GlobalRichList.com, U.S. income of just $2,000 per month places you in the top 2.24 percent of the wealthiest people in the world. That is $12.50 per hour compared to the average laborer in Zimbabwe who makes only 53 cents per hour. In a year an American worker might make $24,000. It would take the average laborer in Zimbabwe 23 years to make the same amount. Historically, our nation's birth and prosperity demonstrated to the world the importance of freedom of conscience and personal responsibility. These are two high values in the Word of God that are worthy of acceptance by every citizen. To echo the words of the Lord Jesus when He spoke the parable of the talents to His followers, "Everyone to whom much is given, of him much will be required" (Luke 12:48 ESV). The Lord Jesus didn't make this statement to simply fill the room with words. He was issuing a warning and at the same time encouragement. He is driving home to His followers the principle of financial stewardship. Stewardship is both personal and communal. Personally, I have the responsibility to determine the most effective use of the resources the Lord has entrusted to me. Also, as a part of the body of Christ, as part of His team on planet earth today, good stewardship of my local church's collective resources is imperative. My generous giving through my local church is at the heart of being a profitable steward in God's Kingdom. My giving demonstrates my being part of the team; my church's investment through the Cooperative Program and other mission enterprises is an expression of our being on the team. Contemporary author John Maxwell writes, "Teamwork is at the heart of great achievement. The question isn't whether teams have value. The question is whether we acknowledge that fact and become better team players. That is why I assert that one is too small a number to achieve greatness. You cannot do anything of real value alone." In the context of Baptists working together to fulfill the Great Commission, Maxwell nails it. In the book where I read what Maxwell wrote, I noted in the margin, "The Great Commission is great. That is why one individual or one independent church of any size is too small to achieve the greatness God has in mind for simultaneously reaching our Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth with the Gospel." It takes Baptists working together in the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish what is "great" before God. You know the old 80/20 principle where 20 percent of the people give 80 percent of the resources of a local church or of any ministry. In the Southern Baptist Convention, 8,200 local churches give 80 percent of all the Cooperative Program funds. But the beauty of responsible stewardship, the fantastic nature of teamwork is that it doesn't matter whether you are in the 80 percent or 20 percent crowd -- you have value to God and He is always encouraging us even in a sagging economy to step up our game and trust Him more. Why trust Him more? Because as devoted followers, as faithful stewards, we are individually and collectively engaged in something much greater than ourselves. We live to be on mission with Him. And responsible stewardship through our local churches is a vital part of our devotion to His purposes of making disciples here and to the ends of the earth. The Cooperative Program gives our churches the methodology to advance the Kingdom of our God for generations and for people who live here and over there. -------------------------------------------------------------------- CALL TO PRAYER: The certainty of Christ by Lance Taylor Date: April 10, 2015 - Friday EDITOR'S NOTE: This column is part of the call to prayer issued by Frank S. Page, president of the SBC Executive Committee, to pray for revival and spiritual awakening for our churches, our nation and our world. Baptist Press is carrying columns encouraging Southern Baptists to pray in specific areas and for specific needs in petitioning the Father for spiritual awakening. HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- Here's the thought I can't shake this week: The uncertainty of life brings stress, but the certainty of Christ brings peace. I don't know about you, but I can sure live between these two realities. In many ways our family, probably like yours, has a lot of change happening. We have two in college, and next year we'll have three (at the same time). Twenty years ago, I guess we could have thought that through a little better! Do we downsize our house or not? With three daughters, how will we pay for weddings? Grandkids? Wendy and I are 50 years old and we have a 10-year-old boy from Haiti as our son now. Wow! -- not the Haiti part but the 10-year-old-boy part! Ha! Our parents are aging, we're thinking "second half" issues, and we wonder if we're saving enough for retirement. And, following the recent death of our pastor, there are obvious changes and challenges at our church (Long Hollow) that have all of us on our knees. In many ways, these are exciting days; they are definitely filled with uncertainty, and at times stress and even worry. Maybe you can relate. My thoughts go to the events of the week leading up to Easter a couple of thousand years ago. No one else knows what's coming; but Jesus does. He knows He's about to go to the cross and I can't imagine what's going through His mind. Thursday night of that week, Jesus holds what will become known as "The Last Supper" with His disciples, He'll pray in the Garden of Gethsemane, and He'll be betrayed and arrested and condemned. Friday morning, He'll stand before Pilate and Herod. He'll be sentenced to death and then led away to be mocked and beaten and crucified. Jesus, being God, knew exactly what was coming. In fact, He knew it all along. That's why He left heaven and came to this world. Chaos was swirling around Him during what we call Passion Week; but He had a certainty in the middle of the uncertainty. Isaiah 26:3 says, "He will have no fear of bad news whose heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord." I find comfort, not just in knowing Jesus' example, but in knowing HIM. Not just in knowing better how to carry my burdens, but in casting my burdens on Him, trusting that He can carry them better than I can. He's proven it. Even though the uncertainty of my life brings stress, the certainty of Christ brings me peace. And that makes all the difference. So may God get all the glory as we celebrate the certainty of Christ -- the certainty of His payment for our sins, the certainty of His resurrection and the certainty of His love for us! -------------------------------------------------------------------- EDITORIAL: El Verdadero Salvador by Michael A. Gonzales Date: April 10, 2015 - Friday GRAPEVINE, Texas (BP) -- Cuando examinamos bien la Biblia, sólo hay un mensaje que se proclama vez tras vez, y ese mensaje es que Cristo es el Salvador del mundo. Desde Génesis hasta Apocalipsis todo empieza y culmina con Jesucristo. "Y pondré enemistad entre ti y la mujer, y entre tu simiente y la simiente tuya; ésta te herirá en la cabeza, y tú le herirás en el calcañar." Génesis 3:15 "La revelación de Jesucristo, que Dios dio, para manifestar a sus siervos las cosas que deben suceder pronto; y la declaró enviándola por medio de su ángel a su siervo Juan, que ha dado testimonio de la palabra de Dios, y el testimonio de Jesucristo, y de todas las cosas que han visto. Bienaventurado el que lee, y los que oyen las palabras de esta profecía, y guardan las cosas en ella escritas; porque el tiempo está cerca. Yo soy el Alfa y la Omega, principio y fin, dice el Señor, el que es y que era y que ha de venir, el Todopoderoso." Apocalipsis 1:1-2, 8 Vemos que el Todopoderoso es Cristo Jesús. Muchas personas han querido ser el Todopoderoso a través de los siglos y aún hoy, pero sólo resultan ser falsos profetas. Cuando Jesús tuvo su encuentro con la mujer Samaritana en el evangelio de Juan, vemos que Cristo nos muestra allí el gran plan de evangelismo y al final declara que él es el Salvador del mundo. Cristo comparte con la mujer Samaritana cuatro cosas. * Primero, Cristo le hizo ver a esta mujer Samaritana su necesidad, ella estaba perdida espiritualmente. Ella tenía una sed física pero su sed verdadera era una sed espiritual. Juan 4:13-14 * Segundo, Cristo le hizo ver su condición. Ella era una pecadora, estaba perdida y lejos de Dios. Juan 4:16-19 * Tercero, Cristo le hizo ver el plan de salvación. El plan de salvación no estaba en una religión, sino sólo está en Cristo Jesús. Y esta mujer Samaritana puso su creencia en Cristo. Juan 4:25 y 26 * Cuatro, Cristo le hizo ver su misión. Cuando esta mujer Samaritana aceptó a Cristo como el Salvador del mundo, ella empezó a testificar este mensaje a todos. Juan 39-41 Y vemos que la confirmación que ella supo que Cristo era el Salvador del mundo, fue porque otros también lo captaron como vemos en Juan 4:42. "Y decían a la mujer: Ya no creemos solamente por tu dicho, porque nosotros mismos hemos oído, y sabemos que verdaderamente éste es el Salvador del mundo." Para ir al cielo sólo hay un camino y ese sólo camino está en Cristo Jesús. Y las mismas palabras de Jesús confirma su deidad en Juan 14:6, "Jesús le dijo: Yo soy el camino, y la verdad, y la vida; nadie viene al Padre, sino por mí." ¡Comparta el verdadero Salvador con alguien hoy! -------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Radical righteousness' needed for S.C. shooting by Diana Chandler Date: April 10, 2015 - Friday CHARLESTON, S.C. (BP) -- Christians should respond with godly grace and wisdom to the shooting death of unarmed black citizen Walter Scott at the hands of white police officer Michael Slager, an urban ministry leader and a criminal justice professor told Baptist Press in the days after the officer was charged with murder. D.A. Horton, a preacher, rap artist and North American Mission Board national coordinator for urban student missions, addressed the incident during the April 8 chapel service at Charleston Southern University, just miles from where the incident occurred in North Charleston, S.C. Radical righteousness as opposed to retaliation should prevail when such tragedies occur, Horton said. "Radical righteousness is lived out when we work to see a criminal receive proper punishment, instead of private revenge; public order instead of personal retaliation; and respond with practical righteousness in place of our personal rights," Horton said at the Baptist-affiliated university. "So whatever you do, wherever you go, whatever cause you're going to champion, do so advocating the justice of God." Slager, 33, was arrested April 7 and charged with murder after video from an observer's cellphone surfaced showing the officer fatally shooting 50-year-old Scott in the back as he fled the scene of a traffic stop. Slager said he had stopped Scott for having a tail light that wasn't working. Christians can neither pretend law enforcers will always uphold the law, Horton said, nor rush to a judgment based on personal emotions and individual experiences. But the church must seek the radical righteousness God prescribes in Matthew 5:38-42. "So when I see situations like this go down, how dark and depraved things look, all I know is I don't have all the answers; I don't have all the insight," Horton said. "I was not present for Mike Brown [in Ferguson, Mo.], for Tamir Rice [in Cleveland, Ohio], for Eric Garner [in New York City], for Ezell Ford [in Los Angeles] and for the multitude of names that have been going down. I wasn't there when the officers got gunned down in Brooklyn. "... But what I do know as a believer, there was a real world with real hurt. There [are] real issues going on out there. And if believers cannot look to the words of Christ, and be words of comfort and clarity to our culture, then we don't need to be claiming to be the church." Joshua Styles, who teaches criminal justice and Christian studies at North Greenville University, another Baptist-affiliated university in South Carolina, told Baptist Press the incident reflects a fallen world. "This is where the Gospel and the Christian message really speaks to this. We would hope that in a just world ... even if we know there's going to be wrongdoers, we would hope that the state and that those who represent the state would be perfectly just in their execution of justice," Styles said. "But frankly speaking ... because of sin, even those in authority are going to abuse their power." Styles, who holds a law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and attended police academy in Raleigh, N.C, said police officers are taught to employ deadly force based on a "use of force continuum" of circumstances. "The reason we call it a continuum is depending on the circumstances second by second, whether or not you have the right to use deadly force, it kind of ebbs and flows, based on the situation. So once that threat has stopped ... it really doesn't matter what happened up to that point ... the officer is no longer justified in using deadly force," Styles said. "The only time that deadly force is justified is when there is an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to you or to people surrounding you, a third party. "In that video there is no imminent threat because the guy is running away," Styles said, referencing the cell phone video taken by a bystander who witnessed Slager shooting Scott in the back. While the officer and victim are of two different ethnicities, the public should not assume race was the motive, Styles said. "We do not know that's why he shot him. Correlation does not equal causation, necessarily, it doesn't," Styles said. Even given the diligence that police academies might employ, some candidates are promoted who do not have the proper character to hold the power of the law. Other officers might react inappropriately because of adrenaline or their mental state at the time of an incident, he said. "I'm a white American so I have not experienced what [African Americans] have in the past, and what they actually still do experience to this day. African Americans perceive law enforcement differently," Styles said. "We do, I think as believers, need to be very empathetic in caring toward a minority community who would struggle with an issue like this. We need to respond with grace ... but we don't want to overblow things like the media would just for the sake of sensationalizing." Horton, in his chapel message, said God's law embraces the rights of the criminal as well as the victim, and seeks a punishment appropriate to the crime. If people filter the world through their sinful nature, he said, justice becomes subjective and is no longer objective. "When we allow our opinion to be the gospel in our life, that's when we know we're wrong in the eyes of God," Horton said. "We have to allow the Gospel to be the Gospel truth in our eyes, so that we can in humility subject our opinion to it, and say, 'Lord help me navigate through the tension that I'm in as a representative of Christ Jesus.'" -------------------------------------------------------------------- Alcance global: LifeWay se abre camino en el extranjero by Por Bob Smietana Date: April 10, 2015 - Friday NASHVILLE (BP) -- “LifeWay es el mayor proveedor de contenido cristiano en el mundo,” dijo Craig Featherstone. “Sin embargo, la mayoría de nuestros productos se quedan en los Estados Unidos.” Como director de Recursos Globales LifeWay, esto es algo que Featherstone quiere cambiar. Dado el crecimiento de la iglesia en lugares como India, China y Brasil, Featherstone cree que los evangélicos del mundo pudieran beneficiarse de los recursos que puede proveer LifeWay. LifeWay ha tenido una presencia en el extranjero durante varias décadas, pero ésta ha incrementado en los años recientes. Actualmente, los recursos de LifeWay están disponibles en 76 países y en más de 40 idiomas. Esto aumentará a 155 países en los próximos meses, a través de la expansión del contenido digital, el cual podrá ser pagado con moneda nacional y a precio local. En India, a través del formato digital disponible en Flipkart.com, los clientes podrán comprar cualquier producto de B&H Publishers, la división de libros de interés general de LifeWay. Mientras tanto, las iglesias en el sur de África, pueden utilizar Amazon.com para pedir los productos. Otro aspecto del crecimiento tendrá lugar a la manera antigua, construyendo lazos fuertes con las iglesias locales y los líderes cristianos. Por ejemplo, en China, LifeWay colabora con una compañía cristiana llamada ZDL para distribuir recursos cristianos. Una parte del contenido fue traducido del inglés al chino y otra fue escrita originalmente en chino. LifeWay también comenzó una nueva compañía para trabajar en China, llamada Zhen Dao –“El Camino Verdadero” -- ara distribuir materiales tales como un libro sobre matrimonio que un pastor chino pudiera escribir. Encontrar un modelo financiero de ministerio sostenible es uno de los retos claves al trabajar internacionalmente. La gente, sin importar dónde vivan, necesitan soluciones bíblicas, dijo Brad Waggoner, vicepresidente ejecutivo de la compañía madre Recursos Cristianos LifeWay de la Convención Bautista del Sur. La clave es asegurarnos que esos recursos encajen en el contexto local y satisfagan las necesidades de las iglesias locales y que sean sostenibles. Aún así, Waggoner dijo que LifeWay está comprometida en la búsqueda de modelos que funcionen. La globalización y la revolución digital facilitaron que LifeWay continuara con su misión. Es una oportunidad para practicar la Gran Comisión, dijo. “No puedes decir que eres un buen mayordomo de la oportunidad -- y solamente preocuparte por Norteamérica,” dijo Waggoner. “Trabajar en el extranjero para fortalecer a las iglesias es una parte de la misión de LifeWay.” Desarrollar lazos fuertes con las iglesias locales y distribuidores dentro del país son una manera de construir un modelo sostenible. Los miembros del personal de LifeWay han dado clases de capacitación para distribuidores en el extranjero y así enseñarles a desarrollar lazos con los pastores y los líderes de la iglesia, y también han ido a conferencias pastorales en el extranjero para ayudarles a poner en práctica esas clases. Y hay planes para mudar al extranjero una parte de la producción, más cerca de los mercados donde viven los clientes internacionales. “Una gran parte de nuestra estrategia será trabajar con proveedores en los otros países en lugares donde el evangelio esté estallando,” dijo Featherstone. “Queremos ayudar a las iglesias en esos países para que puedan obtener el contenido y los recursos que necesitan. No podemos exportar un modelo americano solamente.” Recursos Globales LifeWay también desarrollará nuevo contenido con autores internacionales. “Nos hemos conectado con autores de Latinoamérica y estamos comenzando a localizar autores en India -- pensamos que Dios está levantando voces por todo el mundo,” dijo Featherstone. Luis López, director de recursos LifeWay en español para la iglesia, señaló que Recursos Globales LifeWay es un canal por medio del cual “Dios está haciendo algo muy especial por todo el mundo, haciendo discípulos en todas las naciones. Es emocionante unirse a él sirviendo a Su iglesia globalmente.” -------------------------------------------------------------------- Viaje a Cuba confirma el llamado del presidente de la CBS a orar by Por María Elena Baseler Date: April 10, 2015 - Friday BAYAMO, Cuba (BP) -- El presidente de la Convención Bautista del Sur, Ronnie Floyd cree que el arrollador movimiento de plantación de iglesias en Cuba podría suceder en EE.UU. si los bautistas del sur y otros creyentes estadounidenses se comprometieran a "una oración extraordinaria por el próximo Gran Despertar." "Nunca ha habido un gran movimiento de Dios…que no fuera precedido por una oración extraordinaria del pueblo de Dios. Y necesitamos un despertar espiritual poderoso en nuestra nación," dijo Floyd, quien el año pasado comenzó un continuo llamado a los bautistas del sur por un despertar espiritual que pudiera tener un impacto global. Mientras visitaba Cuba por primera vez a finales de marzo, Floyd vio de primera mano los frutos del despertar espiritual que comenzaron en la isleña nación hace más de dos décadas. "Es obvio que ha habido un movimiento poderoso de Dios aquí. ...y la oración precedió ese movimiento," dijo Floyd, pastor de Cross Church en Springdale, Arkansas, cuando estaba en Cuba. Por invitación de la Junta de Misiones Internacionales, Floyd viajó a Cuba con otros tres pastores bautistas del sur y un equipo de líderes y misioneros de la IMB para asistir a un congreso de misiones de la Convención Bautista de Cuba del Este en la Primera Iglesia Bautista de Bayamo, Cuba. Acompañaron a Floyd en el viaje Willy Rice, pastor de Calvary Baptist Church de Clearwater, Florida, y presidente de la Conferencia de Pastores Bautistas del Sur; Grant Ethridge, presidente de la Convención Bautista del Sur de Virginia y pastor principal de Liberty Baptist Church, Hampton, Virginia; y Jimmy Scroggins, pastor líder de Family Church, West Palm Beach, Florida. Floyd dijo que fue conmovido por los testimonios de varios bautistas cubanos que pronto saldrán como misioneros internacionales, los primeros en ser enviados por juntas misioneras de la Convención Bautista de Cuba del Este y de Cuba del Oeste. Oírlos a ellos expresar su disposición para "abandonarlo todo" para contestar el llamado de Dios fue "una experiencia poderosa y cautivadora para mí -- una que nunca olvidaré," dijo Floyd. Los primeros misioneros bautistas cubanos que se espera que vayan -- posiblemente en mayo -- son dos parejas y una soltera que trabajarán con grupos no alcanzados (UPGs por sus siglas en inglés) en Sudamérica, quienes están en espera del otorgamiento de las visas de los países anfitriones, dijo Kurt Urbanek, líder de estrategia de IMB para Cuba. Una de esas parejas ayudará a llevar el evangelio a los afroecuatorianos en Ecuador y trabajará con Johnny y Donna Maust, misioneros de la IMB, quienes fueron presentados en el énfasis de la Ofrenda de Navidad Lottie Moon 2014. "Los bautistas cubanos han orado 54 años para poder enviar a sus propios misioneros internacionales," dijo Urbanek, autor del "Gran despertar de Cuba: Iglesia siembra movimiento en Cuba." Ahora, debido a los recientes cambios en las leyes cubanas, los cubanos pueden viajar afuera del país dos años sin visa de salida, dijo Urbanek. Durante el congreso de misiones, más de 200 cubanos bautistas comprometieron su vida al servicio de las misiones globales, dijo. Por lo menos 150 de ellos hicieron público su compromiso después de que Floyd predicó sobre Hechos 1:8 al cierre de la conferencia. Ver esa respuesta fue "uno de los momentos más potentes que Dios me haya dado en mi ministerio," dijo Floyd. "Alabo a Dios.' Los creyentes que se comprometieron se unirán a más de otros 200 candidatos a misioneros bautistas cubanos en espera de recibir más entrenamiento, hacer conexiones con proyectos misioneros estratégicos en el extranjero y encontrar financiamiento adecuado para ir, dijo Urbanek. El congreso de misiones se enfocó no solamente en misiones internacionales sino también en los esfuerzos de los bautistas cubanos para alcanzar su propia nación para Cristo. Daniel González -- uno de los tres pastores bautistas cubanos que habló durante la reunión anual de la CBS en Baltimore, Maryland, en junio pasado -- reportó sobre "Urbano 20/20," un plan para la "saturación de la plantación de iglesias" en las 20 ciudades más pobladas de Cuba para el año 2020. Hasta ahora, la mayoría del movimiento de plantación de iglesias de Cuba ha ocurrido en las áreas rurales, pero cerca del 50 por ciento de la población del país vive en los centros urbanos, señaló Urbanek. Scroggins, uno de los pastores visitantes de EE.UU., dijo que estaba impresionado por esto y otras estrategias innovadoras que los cubanos usan en el evangelismo y la plantación de iglesias. "Tengo mucho que aprender de ellos," dijo Scroggins. "Regreso a mi país más inspirado para orar, para pensar estratégicamente y para adorar apasionadamente." Ethridge dijo que nada lo preparó para ver de cerca el despertar espiritual de Cuba. "Cuando entramos [al primer culto]," dijo Ethridge, "la energía, el gozo, la presencia del Señor estaban en ese lugar...Ellos querían que sucedieran [las misiones] en Cuba y desde Cuba a las naciones." Rice dijo: "Aquellos que realmente atesoran lo que tienen en Cristo son los más agradecidos, los más llenos de amor y de pasión por las cosas del Dios. "Creo que en EE.UU. hemos perdido eso," señaló. "Lo damos todo por sentado. Nos hemos enamorado de otras cosas." Él añadió: "Tenemos que recuperar…las cosas que importan más si vamos a ver que un movimiento de plantación de iglesias tome lugar en EE.UU… Tenemos que venir aquí y aprender." -------------------------------------------------------------------- EN PRIMERA PERSONA: Miren lo que Dios está haciendo en Cuba by Por Ronnie Floyd Date: April 10, 2015 - Friday NOTA DEL EDITOR: Ronnie Floyd es el presidente de la Convención Bautista del Sur y pastor de Cross Church en el noroeste de Arkansas. SPRINGDALE, Ark. (BP) -- Hace menos de dos semanas pasé tres días completos en Cuba. Fueron unos pocos días intensos en los que asistí a un congreso de misiones, a reuniones con líderes, y di el mensaje final de esta importante reunión. Durante un año, Dios me puso en el corazón un profundo deseo de ir a Cuba. Había oído de unas pocas personas sobre la gran obra de Dios que seguía adelante allá. Y después de oír a algunos de los líderes cubanos en la reunión anual de la Convención Bautista del Sur 2014, supe que quería ir ahí pronto. Un despertar espiritual está ocurriendo ahora en Cuba Creo que el despertar espiritual es cuando la presencia y el poder del Señor vienen sobre una sección, región, o inclusive un país completo y da como resultado un número inusual de personas que llegan a Cristo, la iglesia crece, e iglesias son plantadas exponencialmente. Históricamente, hay inclusive tiempos en los que la cultura es afectada dramáticamente. Permítanme contarles la historia de lo que Dios ha hecho y está haciendo hoy en Cuba. En 1960, había 210 iglesias bautistas cubanas. En 1990, había 238 iglesias. Hubo un crecimiento de 28 iglesias en 30 años. ENTONCES DIOS llegó en poder y dio como resultado una demostración sobrenatural de su gloria a través de su iglesia. ¿Qué pasó? De 1990 a 1993, los bautistas cubanos plantaron 28 iglesias. En tres años, pudieron hacer lo que anteriormente había tomado 30 años. En 1992, los bautistas cubanos le imploraron a los funcionarios del gobierno cubano permiso para construir nuevas iglesias para acomodar las crecientes multitudes que inundaban las iglesias. Los funcionarios del gobierno les preguntaron: "¿Cuál es el asunto de ustedes los bautistas y los edificios? ¿No pueden orar en sus casas?" Así que así lo hicieron. Dios usó esto para detonar el trabajo del evangelio a través de toda Cuba. Durante el siguiente año, las iglesias de la Convención del Oeste de Cuba comenzaron 237 iglesias casa (y 94 misiones), y por primera vez las iglesias de la Convención del Este reportaron en 1995 que tenían 806 iglesias casa. El reporte final en 2014 registró los siguientes hechos de lo que Dios está haciendo: -- 1.051 iglesias reconocidas por la convención -- 1.658 misiones de iglesias, que son todas iglesias neotestamentarias -- 6.070 iglesias casa o casas de oración Hoy en día, este es el reporte real: -- 8.779 es el número total de iglesias, un crecimiento de 238 iglesias en 1990 -- 445 pastores ordenados dirigen y cuidan a estas 8.779 iglesias -- 48.974 profesiones de fe -- 2.239 misioneros de casa -- Ahora se está completando el papeleo para enviar misioneros fuera de Cuba por primera vez en 54 años. Incuestionablemente, Dios está milagrosamente obrando en Cuba. Esta es una de las más grandes obras de Dios en todo el mundo que se une a otras naciones como China, India, y otras pocas donde ¡el Señor está haciendo explotar su iglesia! Historiadores modernos señalan esta nueva inmobiliaria viviente desde que el despertar ha llegado a Cuba. La iglesia no es solamente parte de su vida, sino que ¡la iglesia es su vida! Interesantemente, también observé en este despertar un increíble ambiente de adoración. Estos seguidores de Cristo en Cuba cantan con el corazón con toda su fuerza dándole gloria a Dios. También aman la Palabra de Dios y la valoran como un tesoro. Su espíritu es dulce lo que resulta en un semblante cautivador. Sí, tienen sus propios retos como resultado de este crecimiento del tamaño de Dios, pero sus desafíos están siendo tratados con la confianza de que Dios es capaz y los llevará adelante. Una señal particular del despertar de Cuba Durante casi tres días, estos bautistas cubanos fueron desafiados a ir hasta lo último de la tierra. Este congreso de misiones, realizado en la región de su Convención del Este, atrajo a algunos participantes del oeste. De hecho, muchos llegaron de la zona más al oeste del país y viajaron 18 horas en la parte trasera de un camión para poder asistir a esta reunión. Se me pidió que diera el mensaje final de su congreso de misiones. Tuve el privilegio de hacer el llamado público a esos adultos a dejar sus familias en Cuba y dar sus vidas, calculando los costos, para ir a los fines de la tierra como misioneros. Después de predicar del libro de los Hechos a través de mi intérprete, Jason Carlisle, el líder de la movilización hispana de nuestra IMB, hice el llamado clara y audazmente y puse la carga ante ellos. Milagrosa y sobrenaturalmente, entre 150 y 200 adultos respondieron a este llamado de ir a los fines de la tierra. El pastor Aníbal Hernández Durán, quien concluyó su cargo como director ejecutivo de la junta de misiones en este evento, escribió a sus iglesias la semana pasada: "Podemos considerar este congreso como el gran comienzo del despertar a las misiones mundiales de los cristianos cubanos." Fue admirable, y algo que no tiene nada que ver conmigo, sino solamente con Dios mismo y con lo que él está haciendo en y a través de los bautistas cubanos. ¡Nunca olvidaré esta experiencia! Estoy más que consciente de que podría haber predicado el mismo mensaje con la misma intensidad en nuestro propio país, y hubiéramos estado satisfechos si siquiera una persona se rindiera a ir a las naciones. Lo que yo sé es: Cuando Dios se muestra, todo cambia porque Dios puede hacer más en un momento de lo que yo puedo hacer en toda mi vida. Esto es por lo que necesitamos el próximo Gran Despertar en EE.UU. Desde mi elección como presidente de la CBS, he hecho un llamado para que nos unamos ahora en un claro acuerdo y en una unión visible en extraordinaria oración por el próximo Gran Despertar y que alcancemos el mundo para Cristo. Esto es por lo que nuestra Convención Bautista del Sur 2015 en Columbus, Ohio, es tan importante. Necesitamos a nuestra familia bautista del sur unida ahora para clamar a Dios juntos como nunca antes por el próximo despertar espiritual en EE.UU. y para que el mundo sea alcanzado para Cristo. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Oren por el matrimonio' insta la ERLC debido a la decisión de la Corte Suprema by Por Tom Strode Date: April 10, 2015 - Friday WASHINGTON (BP) -- La Comisión de Libertad Religiosa y Ética (ERLC por sus siglas en inglés) está invitando a todos los cristianos a orar en relación a lo que pudiera ser una decisión histórica de la Corte Suprema de EE.UU. sobre el matrimonio. La ERLC inició su iniciativa Oren por el Matrimonio el martes (7 de abril), tres semanas antes de los argumentos orales de la corte el 28 de abril que involucran el matrimonio del mismo sexo. Los jueces esperan emitir un veredicto para finales de junio o principios de julio. Al pedirles a los bautistas del sur y a otros que oren, la ERLC apuntó en una publicación en su sitio web a la importancia de la decisión de la corte alta: "Antes de que la Corte someta a votación redefinir el matrimonio. …lo que la Corte Suprema decida en relación a si redefine el matrimonio estará al mismo nivel histórico" que el veredicto de 1973 Roe v. Wade, el cual legalizó el aborto en todo el país. "El resultado de esta decisión definirá el panorama del ministerio de la iglesia en EE.UU. para las futuras generaciones, " de acuerdo a la ERLC, "y tendrá consecuencias significativas para el futuro de la libertad religiosa." La ERLC y su presidente, Russell Moore, han firmado escritos amicus curiae urgiendo a los jueces a respaldar la autoridad de los estados para limitar el matrimonio a un hombre y a una mujer. En su invitación a orar, la ERLC proveyó un ejemplo de guía de oración con base en varios pasajes bíblicos. En ella, la entidad les pidió a los cristianos: -- "Orar para que toda la gente, incluyendo las autoridades gobernantes, honren la institución del matrimonio. -- "Orar para que los jueces de la Corte Suprema sean receptivos a los argumentos hechos apasionadamente ante ellos. -- "Orar por los principales abogados que argumentarán a favor de los estados que buscan mantener el matrimonio. Pídanle a Dios que les dé claridad y sabiduría, para que sus argumentos sean persuasivos, y para que Dios les dé favor ante los jueces. -- "Orar por aquellos que no estén de acuerdo con nosotros, para que Dios los ayude a entender y respetar las opiniones de aquellos cuya definición del matrimonio esté basada en el testimonio bíblico. -- "Orar y esperar lo mejor pero planear [para un veredicto adverso]. Aun en el caso de una mala decisión, el matrimonio siempre será lo que el matrimonio verdaderamente es." En su sitio web, la ERLC urgió a orar por las iglesias y las organizaciones específicamente el 28 de abril a las 10 a.m. hora del este, cuando los argumentos orales comiencen. La entidad también animó el uso de un nuevo avatar provisto en su sitio web para las cuentas de medios sociales y la inclusión de la etiqueta #PrayForMarriage con publicación. La ERLC y Moore llamaron a orar no solamente por la preservación del matrimonio bíblico de parte de la Corte Suprema sino por el fortalecimiento de la institución. "Necesitamos orar para que el matrimonio no sea tratado como si fuera una casa destartalada en medio de una construcción del gobierno -- sacada del camino en nombre del progreso," escribió Moore en una publicación de blog el 7 de abril. "Y sin embargo, por otro lado, debemos orar y pedirle a Dios que nos dé sabiduría de manera que al seguir adelante podamos aclarar con amabilidad convencedora por qué el matrimonio es importante" a la luz del evangelio y de la diferencia en los sexos. Moore también instó a orar para que Jesús "venza la atrofia que hemos permitido que nuestros matrimonios y nuestras familias caigan por tanto tiempo. La creencia en nuestras iglesias que la cultura era suficiente para mantener nuestros matrimonios intactos ha probado ser un completo desatino." Más importante, dijo Moore, los cristianos "deben orar que, independientemente de si nuestra más alta corte de la tierra reconozca lo inalterable o no, nos mantengamos firmes. Debemos amar a nuestros prójimos lo suficiente para tener la confianza de la gente que ha oído una palabra de parte de Dios y la compasión de una persona que está en misión con Dios." Los argumentos orales de la Corte Suprema llegarán en un caso del Sexto Circuito de la Corte de Apelaciones, que se convirtió en noviembre en la primera corte de apelaciones en decretar que los estados tienen la autoridad para definir el matrimonio como solamente una unión heterosexual. Otras cinco cortes de apelaciones han invalidado las leyes estatales que prohíben el matrimonio gay. El veredicto de la Corte del Sexto Distrito, con sede en Cincinnati, tuvo lugar en desafíos a las leyes en los estados de Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio y Tennessee. El matrimonio del mismo sexo es ahora legal en 37 estados, casi el triple de los 13 estados donde era legal a mediados de 2013. También es legal en el Distrito de Columbia. Fallos de la corte han producido que el matrimonio sea legal en más de dos tercios de esos estados. La expansión del matrimonio del mismo sexo ha resultado en el crecimiento de los choques entre los derechos de las parejas gay y la libertad religiosa de los individuos y de las organizaciones. Floristas, pasteleros, fotógrafos y otros dueños de negocios que tienen objeciones concienzudas para proveer sus servicios en ceremonias del mismo sexo han sido penalizados o están enfrentando penalidades por rehusarse. -------------------------------------------------------------------- EDITORIAL: El Verdadero Salvador by Por Michael A. Gonzales Date: April 10, 2015 - Friday GRAPEVINE, Texas (BP) -- Cuando examinamos bien la Biblia, sólo hay un mensaje que se proclama vez tras vez, y ese mensaje es que Cristo es el Salvador del mundo. Desde Génesis hasta Apocalipsis todo empieza y culmina con Jesucristo. "Y pondré enemistad entre ti y la mujer, y entre tu simiente y la simiente tuya; ésta te herirá en la cabeza, y tú le herirás en el calcañar." Génesis 3:15 "La revelación de Jesucristo, que Dios dio, para manifestar a sus siervos las cosas que deben suceder pronto; y la declaró enviándola por medio de su ángel a su siervo Juan, que ha dado testimonio de la palabra de Dios, y el testimonio de Jesucristo, y de todas las cosas que han visto. Bienaventurado el que lee, y los que oyen las palabras de esta profecía, y guardan las cosas en ella escritas; porque el tiempo está cerca. Yo soy el Alfa y la Omega, principio y fin, dice el Señor, el que es y que era y que ha de venir, el Todopoderoso." Apocalipsis 1:1-2, 8 Vemos que el Todopoderoso es Cristo Jesús. Muchas personas han querido ser el Todopoderoso a través de los siglos y aún hoy, pero sólo resultan ser falsos profetas. Cuando Jesús tuvo su encuentro con la mujer Samaritana en el evangelio de Juan, vemos que Cristo nos muestra allí el gran plan de evangelismo y al final declara que él es el Salvador del mundo. Cristo comparte con la mujer Samaritana cuatro cosas. * Primero, Cristo le hizo ver a esta mujer Samaritana su necesidad, ella estaba perdida espiritualmente. Ella tenía una sed física pero su sed verdadera era una sed espiritual. Juan 4:13-14 * Segundo, Cristo le hizo ver su condición. Ella era una pecadora, estaba perdida y lejos de Dios. Juan 4:16-19 * Tercero, Cristo le hizo ver el plan de salvación. El plan de salvación no estaba en una religión, sino sólo está en Cristo Jesús. Y esta mujer Samaritana puso su creencia en Cristo. Juan 4:25 y 26 * Cuatro, Cristo le hizo ver su misión. Cuando esta mujer Samaritana aceptó a Cristo como el Salvador del mundo, ella empezó a testificar este mensaje a todos. Juan 39-41 Y vemos que la confirmación que ella supo que Cristo era el Salvador del mundo, fue porque otros también lo captaron como vemos en Juan 4:42. "Y decían a la mujer: Ya no creemos solamente por tu dicho, porque nosotros mismos hemos oído, y sabemos que verdaderamente éste es el Salvador del mundo." Para ir al cielo sólo hay un camino y ese sólo camino está en Cristo Jesús. Y las mismas palabras de Jesús confirma su deidad en Juan 14:6, "Jesús le dijo: Yo soy el camino, y la verdad, y la vida; nadie viene al Padre, sino por mí." ¡Comparta el verdadero Salvador con alguien hoy!