
The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-04/15/2005

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.


--------------------------------------------------------------------

Pro-family leaders supporting Senate rule change effort
by Staff
Date: April 15, 2005 - Friday

Updated April 18, 10:55 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON (BP)--The Senate appears headed for a confrontation over judicial filibusters within the next month, and social conservatives are stepping up to encourage a change in the rules.

The Washington Post reported April 15 that associates to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist say an attempt to change the rules to prevent the filibustering of judges is "all but certain" to occur in the next weeks. If that is done successfully, the confirmation of judges would require only a simple majority of 51 votes, and not the super-majority of 60 votes now needed to overcome a filibuster.

Such a change would result in more conservative judges being placed on federal courts -- possibly even the Supreme Court -- which would impact everything from abortion to same-sex "marriage" to Ten Commandments displays.

"I think it's going to happen," Sen. John Thune, R.-S.D., said of a rule change attempt, according to The Post.

Using the filibuster, Senate Democrats have blocked nearly one-fifth (10 of 52) of President Bush's appellate court nominees. All 10 had enough votes for confirmation but not enough votes to overcome a filibuster. Many of them were criticized for their pro-life rulings and views. President Bush has resubmitted seven of the nominees, and Democratic leaders say they once again will use the filibuster to block them.

The rule change became possible last November when Republicans increased their majority status from 51 to 55 seats, bringing in several social conservatives who support the rule change. Nevertheless, a rule change is not guaranteed. One Republican, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, says he will oppose it. Republicans can afford to lose five votes and still win the vote, with Vice President Dick Cheney breaking a 50-50 tie.

Hoping to put pressure on senators to support the change, Christian leaders are coming together for a “Justice Sunday” nationwide simulcast April 24. In addition to Frist, Focus on the Family's James Dobson, Prison Fellowship's Charles Colson, Family Research Council's Tony Perkins and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary's R. Albert Mohler Jr. are scheduled to speak.

Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky., is hosting the event, which is set to begin at 7 p.m. EST. and is being sponsored by the Family Research Council and Focus on the Family Action. (Information about how churches and individuals can watch the simulcast is available at www.frc.org.)

"For years activist courts, aided by liberal interest groups like the ACLU, have been quietly working under the veil of the judiciary, like thieves in the night, to rob us of our Christian heritage and our religious freedoms," Perkins said in a statement on FRC's website. "Federal judges have systematically grabbed power, usurping the constitutional authority that resides in the other two branches of government and, ultimately, in the American people.

"We now have a President who is committed to nominate judicial candidates who are not activists, but strict constructionists -- judges who will simply interpret the Constitution as it was written. We now have a majority in the U.S. Senate that will confirm these nominees. However, there is a radical minority that has launched an unprecedented filibuster against these outstanding men and women."

Republicans say judicial filibusters are unconstitutional. The Constitution, they say, is clear in defining when super-majorities are needed -- for instance, when confirming treaties. But the confirmation of judges isn't one of those instances.

Democrats counter by saying that a rule change would alter decades of Senate tradition, and that Republicans blocked President Clinton's nominees simply by not letting them get out of committee. A rule change, they say, would grind Senate business on other matters to a halt.

Democrats call the rule change the "nuclear option," Republicans call it the "constitutional option."

A rule change could have an even greater impact when the next opening on the Supreme Court occurs. Many observers believe that Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who is battling thyroid cancer, will retire soon.

Earlier this month Sen. George Allen, R.-Va., said that a rule change vote would best be done in April.

"We need to have a vote in April, and it needs to be forced," he told Pat Robertson in an interview. "And I know the Senate loves to talk endlessly, stay in the tall grass. But you have to force them to vote, and we have to bring them to a vote this month, in my view, on some of these appellate judges. Because, if you wait around and go through the whole summer, and there is a vacancy on the Supreme Court, the whole debate will be on process, which they worship in Washington, rather than the merits of the individual who may be nominated by the president."
--30--


--------------------------------------------------------------------

MARRIAGE DIGEST: Canadian political scandal could prevent 'gay marriage' vote; U.S. Senate considers amendment
by Michael Foust
Date: April 15, 2005 - Friday

OTTAWA (BP)--A Canadian political scandal involving the governing Liberal Party could directly impact the push to legalize same-sex "marriage."

The scandal, which some are calling Canada's "Watergate," escalated recently when a Quebec advertising executive testified that top Liberals asked him to donate to the party in exchange for government contracts. His company received contracts four times between 1993 and 2002 -- a stretch in which the Liberals were in charge.

The contracts -- part of a Liberal-backed sponsorship program -- were to be used in Quebec for advertisements and promotions for Canadian unity. A significant number of people in the French-speaking province favor secession, although a 1995 referendum on secession failed.

An audit showed that $82 million (in U.S. dollars) out of $250 million budgeted for the sponsorship program went to advertising agencies that supported the Liberals. The audit also showed that some of the agencies produced nothing even though they were paid.

A handful of new polls have many observers predicting that an election will be called by this summer. (Unlike the U.S., Canada does not have scheduled elections.) If the Conservative Party wins the House of Commons, a Liberal bill to legalize same-sex "marriage" almost certainly would die.

"There is a depth of anger there. The Liberal Party is in deep, deep trouble," Richard Simeon, a political science professor at the University of Toronto, told the Associated Press.

The Liberals currently have 132 seats in the 308-seat House of Commons. Conservatives have 99, the Bloc Quebecois 54 and the New Democratic Party 19. There are three independents and one vacancy.

One poll, done by EKOS, showed 36 percent of Canadians supporting the Conservatives, 25 percent the Liberals, 20.5 percent the NDPs and 12.6 percent the Bloc.

Another poll, this one by Environics, showed the Conservatives at 33 percent, the Liberals at 27 percent and the NDP at 24 percent.

Because the Liberals don't have a majority of seats in the House, the other parties can topple the government if they decide not to cooperate on legislation. The Liberals lost majority government status during last June's election.

"There is little immediately apparent in the political environment ... to suggest a way back for the Liberals," EKOS pollster Frank Graves told the Toronto Star, adding that his poll showed "a breathtaking shift in what had been a stagnant and listless political landscape."

Prime Minister Paul Martin, a Liberal, is pushing to legalize same-sex "marriage" nationwide. It already is legal in seven of 10 provinces.

A Conservative government would result in Stephen Harper, a social conservative on most issues, becoming prime minister. He has been a vocal opponent of the same-sex "marriage" push.

The "gay marriage" bill was introduced in February by Martin himself. Harper attempted to amend the bill so that it instead would ban same-sex "marriage," but that attempt failed April 12 on a 164-132 vote in the House of Commons.

Canadians are split on the marriage issue, with polls showing either slim opposition or slim support. A March Environics poll of 1,203 adults showed 52 percent of Canadians opposing the Liberal bid to legalize "gay marriage," 44 percent supporting it.

SENATE CONSIDERS AMENDMENT -- A U.S. Senate Judiciary subcommittee heard testimony April 14 on the need of a U.S. constitutional marriage amendment. Specifically, the hearing addressed whether state bans on "gay marriage" are in jeopardy from a federal court ruling.

Gerard V. Bradley, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, argued for an amendment's passage, saying the Supreme Court will take up the issue eventually if Congress does not.

"&#91;I&#93;f there is going to be an amendment to the Constitution about same-sex marriage ... which body shall make that call? The court? Or Congress and the American people?" he asked.

"... I offer to you my professional judgment ... that making a watershed judicial ruling a condition precedent to proposing an amendment to the people is unnecessary as a matter of law and imprudent as a matter of politics. Why should Congress wait and see whether the court amends the Constitution first?"

The marriage amendment in the Senate has 28 sponsors. Is it S.J. Res. 1.

NO ORE. CIVIL UNIONS? -- An Oregon Supreme Court ruling April 14 against same-sex "marriage" may have ended efforts to pass a civil unions bill in the state legislature. The court tossed out the 3,000 marriage licenses Multnomah County had issued to homosexual couples. It also refused to take up the question of whether Vermont-style civil unions -- which provide most of the legal benefits of marriage -- must be legalized.

The court said the county's marriage licenses were invalid from the get-go -- even before Oregon voters passed a marriage amendment.

The lawsuit, which at first sought "gay marriage" legalization, was filed before the November amendment vote. After the amendment passed, attorneys for the same-sex couples changed strategy and instead asked for civil unions. But the court ruled that the attorneys could not change their legal request mid-stream.

Although Oregon's governor wants to see a civil unions bill passed, such an effort faces an uphill climb in the Republican-controlled House, which shows no desire to tackle the issue.

"With the budget and this meth situation at the top of our list, we're going to have our hands full," state Rep. Chairman Wayne Krieger, a Republican and the chairman of the House judiciary committee, was quoted as saying in The Oregonian.

S.C., TEXAS ADVANCE AMENDMENTS -- State constitutional marriage amendments advanced in South Carolina and Texas the week of April 10.

In South Carolina, the state Senate passed an amendment April 13 by a vote of 37-1. The House earlier passed a slightly different version. If the two chambers agree one version, the amendment would go to voters in 2006.

In Texas, a House committee passed an amendment April 11 by a vote of 6-1.
--30--
For more information about the national debate over same-sex "marriage," visit <a href="http://www.bpnews.net/samesexmarriage">http://www.bpnews.net/samesexmarriage</a>

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Billy Graham Bible is bold on  hot-button worldview topics
by Michael Foust
Date: April 15, 2005 - Friday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--The Billy Graham Training Center Bible doesn't run from hot-button issues. Abortion. Cohabitation. Homosexuality. They're all covered, along with more than 100 other topics covering less controversial issues like depression, love and loneliness.

It is the first Bible project undertaken by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

The dust jacket bills the Bible, released in November, as providing "time-tested answers to your toughest questions." Throughout the biblical text, topic notes explain and interpret various passages. Readers then are guided to other parts of Scripture where the same issue is tackled.

The New King James Version translation is used.

"It runs a pretty good spectrum -- from abortion and homosexuality on one end to fear and bitterness on the other end. I think it's balanced," BGEA spokesperson Mark DeMoss told Baptist Press. "It was not an attempt to be a news-making Bible. But of 100 or so topics, there are a number that would be considered controversial or delicate, and they're included."

A few examples:

-- Homosexuality.

"The only cure for homosexuality, or any type of sinful behavior, is a personal, intimate, and continuous relationship with Jesus Christ," a note on the same page as 1 Corinthians 6 reads.

-- Abortion.

"The Bible teaches that the unborn child is fully human," a note on Psalm 139 reads. Speaking to those considering an abortion, it says, "we urge you to consider having the child."

-- Suicide.

"It is Satan who convinces people to take their own lives," a note on Job 6 reads. "... Jesus does not want you take your own life; He wants to give you abundant life."

The Training Center Bible also includes answers to 50 frequently asked questions concerning various topics. For instance: "Is there anything wrong with living with my boyfriend if we plan to be married someday?"

"Living together without being married is common in our culture, but this goes against God's will," the answer reads. "... When you have this kind of relationship outside of marriage, you do not have a lasting commitment to each other and thus cannot have a full measure of trust and security."

Some of the notes are taken from another BGEA publication, "The Billy Graham Christian Worker's Handbook." But while the handbook was aimed at Christian leaders, the Training Center Bible targets both believers and non-believers.

And while Billy Graham himself didn't write it, his sermons and articles throughout the years provided the foundation.

"Theologically, it would mirror the theology of Mr. Graham and the Graham organization, which is certainly a conservative evangelical bent," DeMoss said. "Through 50-plus years of public ministry, he has in one way or another addressed most of these 100 or so topics in sermons or messages or talk show interviews. The Graham organization keeps all of that information as well, which helps them respond to people that write or call with questions."

The Billy Graham Training Center Bible also includes a topic index, a 195-page concordance and maps.
--30--
The Billy Graham Training Center Bible is available at LifeWay Christian Stores and online at www.lifewaystores.com.


--------------------------------------------------------------------

Heisman winner Wuerffel to talk on ‘Why am I empty?’
by Staff
Date: April 15, 2005 - Friday

ORLANDO, Fla. (BP)--Fellowship Orlando, like many churches in the entertainment-driven city, faces unique challenges with Disney World, Universal Studios, Sea World and numerous other attractions nearby.

So, Pastor Rodney Gage asked Florida football legend Danny Wuerffel to talk on “Why Am I Empty?”

Wuerffel led the University of Florida to their only national championship and won the 1996 Heisman Trophy.

“So many people in society today are thirsting for something, but they can’t seem to find something that satisfies,” Gage said. “Here’s an athlete who virtually had everything –- fame, fortune –- but yet he realized that what the world had to offer to fill the emptiness in his life was short-lived.”

Wuerffel, who will share his testimony in Fellowship Orlando’s morning worship service April 17, also will autograph his book, “Tales from the Gator Swamp: Reflections of Faith and Football,” released in August 2004.

“When we started trying to figure out what we could do, Danny’s name came to mind,” Gage said. “We realized that this could be one of the most strategic outreach opportunities we could ever pull off.”

Gage hopes Wuerffel’s popularity in Florida will help draw lost people to Dr. Phillip’s High School where the church meets each week -- people who wouldn’t normally come to church but are interested in what the former quarterback, who also spent seven seasons in the NFL, has to say.

Gage said Wuerffel will talk about the satisfaction he found in Christ and encourage those in attendance to see Jesus as the only one who can fill the void in their lives.

Wuerffel also will talk about Desire Street Ministries, an inner-city organization in New Orleans where he has served as development director since 2004. The ministry – in which Wuerffel became involved after being drafted by the New Orleans Saints in 1996 -– aims to transform the Desire neighborhood in the city through outreach to youth and others in need.

Gage said the event will help Fellowship Orlando, a mission of First Baptist Church, continue to build an awareness in the community that the congregation is known for doing “something out of the box” to make an impact on people’s lives.
--30—
Fellowship Orlando is on the Web at www.fellowshiporlando.com



--------------------------------------------------------------------

Samford’s Corts slates retirement; search committee formed
by Staff
Date: April 15, 2005 - Friday

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BP)--Thomas E. Corts has announced his retirement from the presidency of Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., a post he has held since 1983. A search committee has been appointed, and if they elect his successor before his stated retirement date of May 2006, Corts will step down earlier.

Corts, 63, made his plans known during a joint meeting of Samford's board of trustees and board of overseers April 14 and then told a larger audience of students, faculty and staff, saying it's "time for fresh vision and new energy" in the president's office.

"This work carries with it a lot of demands and time constraints, the following of a daily schedule," he said, according to The Birmingham News. "It stirs up within you a lot of intensity and anxiety, and it keeps you running to try to achieve your personal best and to try to do your best for the university. I'd like to think I have earned a big, long sigh."

During his tenure at Samford, the 17th president has been credited with leading the dramatic expansion of academic programs, improving pay and benefits for faculty and staff, increasing the quality of student housing, restarting an intercollegiate athletics program by reinstating the football program and adding women's athletics, and overseeing major efforts to increase the school's endowments, according to the Birmingham paper.

When Corts assumed the presidency 22 years ago, Samford's endowment stood at $8 million and today it has grown to $258 million. Also, more than 30 new buildings have been constructed on the campus and Corts has signed and presented more than 17,000 diplomas.

"When I was a teenager, I thought a lot about which life was the more important: the life of action or the life of contemplation," Corts said April 14. "Obviously, for three-plus decades I have been the head of an institution of higher learning. I have had no choice but to follow the life of action. I look forward to pursuing the vita contemplativa once I am out of office."

Before he was Samford's president, Corts served nine years as the head of Wingate University in North Carolina. He received both a master's and a doctor of philosophy degree from Indiana University and earned an undergraduate degree at Georgetown College in Kentucky.

Corts also has served as president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and has most recently been a leader in the movement to amend Alabama's constitution.

"I consider myself a very blessed man because I have been privileged to do what I wanted to do and what I felt was the work given me to do, and I have enjoyed it," he said. "I have loved the students. This is a great faculty in terms of professional skill and in terms of personality. This institution has a great constituency in the people of Birmingham and of Alabama, and especially in Alabama Baptists."

Samford is affiliated with the Alabama Baptist Convention.

Joe Godfrey, immediate past president of the Alabama convention, noted Corts' ability to strengthen Samford's spiritual ties to the church.

"I believe he's done an excellent job of building the school's reputation as a place where quality education can be received, and I feel he's done an excellent job of strengthening its Christian perspective," Godfrey told The Birmingham News.

Although Corts faced criticism sometimes for allowing what was taught at Samford to be outside the belief system of most Baptists, Godfrey commended Corts for his efforts in correcting the situations.

"He adjusted and opened up the lines of communication to pastors and to Baptists to the point where our tie today is closer to the school than it has ever been," he said.

A 17-member presidential search committee comprised of trustees, faculty members, alumni and one former trustee has been appointed. Albert Brewer, a former Alabama governor and retired law professor, and attorney and trustee Hobart Grooms will serve as co-chairs.

Founded in 1841, Samford is the largest independently supported university in the state of Alabama, offering 26 degree programs and more than 80 programs in eight schools.
--30--


--------------------------------------------------------------------

Websites becoming effective tools for reaching college students
by Brooklyn Noel
Date: April 15, 2005 - Friday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--University of Texas student Ashley Cook checks the mailbox outside her off-campus dormitory five days a week. The third-year student is, however, a “compulsive e-mail checker” who sifts through the contents of her three e-mail accounts as many as four times each day.

She also spends time online chatting with friends, researching, completing school projects and just browsing the Internet. So it’s no surprise that Cook originally became involved in the Baptist Student Ministry at the University of Texas in Austin after visiting the organization’s webpage.

Increasingly, ministry leaders are finding that reaching collegians with information about college ministry news and events means venturing into cyberspace with interactive and up-to-date websites.

The CollegeMinistryLINK service of LifeWay Christian Resources is a custom edition of LifeWayLINK, a website tool for ministries. The new college edition of the service features templates and designs specifically geared to churches and campus organizations with student ministries.

For several years, University of Texas BSM director Jimmy Daniel tried to offer an informative website for the ministry, but consistency proved a problem. As the technology-minded students who maintained the website graduated, it routinely fell into outdated disarray.

The dilemma wasn’t unique to UT.

Gary McClure, marketing manager for LifeWay’s e-business department, said the idea for a custom version of LifeWayLINK was “born out of feedback from campus directors and student pastors who need a Web solution to effectively impact today’s students. They asked for a no-hassle service that is easily managed by several people, therefore becoming graduation-proof.”

Daniel said the CollegeMinistryLINK service the BSM now uses is easy enough for him personally to update the material on the website.

“I don’t have to know HTML or FrontPage to change the content,” he said. “Before, I was dependent upon a student who was Web-savvy to make the changes. The simplicity is its strength.”

An effective BSM site will help current college students and high school students who are researching college options understand exactly what the ministry has to offer, Daniel said. “I felt like it was important to have a website that communicates who we are.”

The website targets new students at the University of Texas who are already Christians and are seeking a Christian environment, Daniel said. “I want to get them involved as quickly as possible so they have that Christian support,” he said, pointing out that only about 3,000 of UT’s 52,000 students attend Christian services or events.

Using the website’s calendar tool helps Daniel easily inform students of opportunities to participate in numerous BSM activities, which helps students “find a way to plug in.”

Helping students plug into a community also is one of the main goals David Anglin, college pastor at Longview Heights Baptist Church in Olive Branch, Miss., has for the website he maintains through CollegeMinistryLINK.

Olive Branch isn’t a college town, but several schools are in the proximity and his college program averages about 50 students each week.

“I want &#91;the website&#93; to be a place people can frequent that becomes a ministry arm of our church and provides a sense of community,” he said. “Community provides accountability and encouragement and challenge.”

He said he hopes to one day use the CollegeMinistryLINK’s discussion board feature to keep in touch with Longview students who leave home for college.

“It seems like in college your relationships start to get deeper and the community becomes more important,” Anglin said. “The discussion board is key to creating that sense of community.”

Daniel said connecting students is important at the University of Texas, as well, and the prayer link feature of the CollegeMinistryLINK service is helping create that sense of community.

The link allows students to send their prayer requests directly to Daniel and his staff. The petitions for prayer are posted on the BSM’s site so others can offer support. 

“We really have a group that prays, so I think that &#91;link&#93; is going to be something that is big,” Daniel said, adding that students began submitting requests as soon as the new site went live in February.
--30--
For more information on CollegeMinistryLINK, visit www.lifewaylink.com/college.


--------------------------------------------------------------------

Season in review: Lady Bulldogs' journey leads to national title
by Tim Ellsworth
Date: April 15, 2005 - Friday

JACKSON, Tenn. (BP)--It was late January when the bottom seemed to fall out.

After starting the season 17-0, including wins over nearly all the top teams in the country, the Union University Lady Bulldogs seemed invincible. They were not.

The first loss of the year came Jan. 20 to Trevecca Nazarene. One week later, another loss -- this time to Lyon College. A third loss came the next week to Freed-Hardeman.

Three losses in seven games. Questions, doubts and anxiety followed.

"I think we were all just kind of confused, just trying to figure out what was going on," senior forward Stephanie Clark said.

"It just hit us by surprise," senior guard Monica Elliot said. "We weren't expecting it at all."

Off the court, frustrations were mounting. Some parents were unhappy with their daughters' playing times. Some players were having attitude problems of their own.

"From that either you respond to it or you react," coach Mark Campbell said. "I think our team responded."

The Lady Bulldogs rebounded by going 14-2 over the rest of the season and capturing the university's second NAIA Division I national championship March 22 with a 67-63 win over Oklahoma City.

For Baptists, this year's women's basketball season provided a Division I sweep, as Baylor University won the NCAA Division I crown.

For Campbell, in his sixth season as the Union coach, it was his first national title.

And for the Lady Bulldogs, the championship was the culmination of a season filled with high hopes from the beginning.

"Our goal the whole season was to win a national championship -- not to win conference, as great as that would be, and not to go undefeated, as great as that would be," Clark said. "Ultimately what was in our sights was a national championship."

Campbell recruited this year's team for that purpose specifically, and some of his decisions initially caught the attention of his returning players. He brought in more guards than some of his players thought were necessary. He added players that he knew would take playing time away from his veterans. He heard about that from parents.

"Everybody's allowed to be biased towards their own child," Campbell said. "As a coach, I know that. I knew that was going to be the biggest thing with this year's team, because we brought in eight players and we lost one player who played last year. One."

But Campbell convinced his team that the additions were necessary if the Lady Bulldogs were to be serious contenders for the national title. The new players helped contribute to practices filled with intensity because they all knew they had to earn their time on the floor.

The hard work in practices paid off immediately as Union opened the season with 17 straight wins, including a 92-70 trouncing of Oklahoma City in a preview of the national championship game. The Lady Bulldogs weren't really even tested, as their closest game was a four-point win over Berry College. Things couldn't have been better for the team.

Signs began to emerge, however, that the Lady Bulldogs' season wouldn't be problem-free. For one, Paola Ferrari quit the team at Christmas.

"I think ultimately that has some sort of effect on everybody," Campbell said. "When someone chooses to not be a part, it automatically makes other people more committed. I think that had an impact on our team."

But a positive impact was not immediate. Campbell noticed a lack of intensity in his team after returning from the Christmas holidays. Although the Lady Bulldogs won their first four games in January, pushing their record to 17-0, they hit a wall that began with their 74-64 loss to Trevecca at home.

"I think everybody tends to relax when things are going good," Campbell said. "I think we all did that to a certain extent."

Some of the team's meetings got emotional as Union struggled through a couple of weeks of uncertainty. Campbell even broke down.

"I don't want to ever feel like I care more than they do -- which is always going to be the case, since it's my job," he said. "I think when you care about people it's important to you. So for me, crying's never been a big deal. And usually when men cry, girls respond."

Though confused with what was happening to the team, Clark said the players fought through it.

"We decided we were going to pull together as a team and it wasn't just going to happen," she said. "It was going to have to be intentional every day in practice. It was something that we actually didn't start doing very well until the end of the season."

Her battles on the court weren't the only ones for Clark, the NAIA national Player of the Year who averaged 21 points and 12 rebounds per game. Off the court, Clark faced some spiritual struggles that her teammates and coaches helped pull her through.

That spoke loudly about how much her teammates and coaches cared for her.

"I had some junk going on that wasn't glorifying to God," Clark said. "Nothing illegal, but I wasn't where I needed to be spiritually. Knowing that my coaching staff was praying for me, that I had teammates who were there to support me -- that's the first time I've ever been on a team where that happened."

After losing to Freed-Hardeman on Feb. 5 (the first of three Union losses to the Lady Lions during the season), the Lady Bulldogs started clicking again. They began encouraging each other more in practice. They picked up the intensity they had lost.

"I think the confidence we had in each other on the floor played a big role," Elliot said.

Amid the frustration of losing the conference title game to Freed-Hardeman, Campbell saw some positive attributes in his team. In fact, he thought it was Union's best game of the semester. He challenged his team to build on that performance as they prepared for the NAIA national tournament.

"No one remembers what happens in the conference tournament," he said. "They always remember what happens in March."

As they did earlier in the season, the Lady Bulldogs responded. They weren't tested in their first round game against Lubbock Christian University, but they needed overtime to finish off North Georgia College in round two.

After victories in the quarterfinals and semifinals, and edging Oklahoma City in the finals, the Lady Bulldogs could look back and reflect on a season they will tell their children and grandchildren about for years to come.

"I definitely feel blessed by God to be a part of that," Clark said. "Not that you're always going to win and come out successful in the world's eyes. We're not here to be patted on the back by other people but to be faithful to our heavenly Father."

For Campbell, the moment in the spotlight is an opportunity to thank God for the blessing.

"I don't think He cares about us winning a basketball game, but He does require us to glorify Him in it," he said.

Campbell also knows the best part of the season wasn't necessarily a national title, but the process to get there -- and the relationships forged along the way.

"The whole thing that's success for me is the journey," he said. "Without the previous six and a half months, it's impossible to enjoy the last month. A lot of people win championships, but not everybody goes about the journey the right way."
--30--


--------------------------------------------------------------------

FIRST-PERSON: How, they ask, can it be love?
by Kelly Boggs
Date: April 15, 2005 - Friday

McMINNVILLE, Ore. (BP)--“How do you respond to the assertion that your position does not appear very loving?” the reporter asked. She added, “As a Christian, aren’t you, above all, to exhibit love?”

The aforementioned questions were posed by a reporter seeking my thoughts regarding the Oregon Supreme Court’s unanimous decision to void some 3,000 marriage licenses issued to homosexual couples by Multnomah County (home to Portland, and Oregon’s most populous county) during the spring of 2004.

I said that I thought the decision was correct. I added that the commissioners were wrong to unilaterally attempt to redefine marriage so as to include homosexual relationships.

That is when she posed the oft-asked query. Reporters ask it without fail. Proponents of homosexual “marriage” usually scream it at the top of their lungs. Liberals repeat it in a condescending tone. “As a Christian, how do your justify your opposition to homosexual marriage &#91;or homosexuality in general&#93; as love?”

If I had the proverbial nickel for every time I’ve been asked that question, I would, at the very least, drive a nicer car. My 1995 Ford Escort is adequate transportation, but the new Mustang, according to my son, is “sweet.”

The reason the question is asked so frequently is that the concept of love is distorted in our current culture. Americans, we are told, love baseball, hotdogs, apple pie and (insert the name of your favorite automobile manufacturer or sports team).

Love is viewed as a mere feeling. More often than not, it is understood to be an empathetic emotion. Love, according to American popular culture, should accentuate the positive and eliminate, or at the very least ignore, the negative.

Applied to homosexual behavior and same-sex “marriage,” love American-style emphasizes tolerance and compassion. Totally absent in popular culture’s connotation of love is any orientation toward truth.

While love does include some measure of tolerance and compassion, real love also embraces truth.

“Love,” the Apostle Paul wrote, “does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth.” In the Book of Proverbs we are told, “Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed.”

If love is genuine, it tells the truth.

From a biological standpoint, homosexuality is aberrant. Despite the claims of homosexuals, and those who “love” them, no definitive study has ever established proof of a genetic origin for homosexuality. Not one.

Homosexual behavior is extremely unhealthy. One study has shown that the life expectancy of homosexuals (men and women) is reduced by as much as half that of heterosexuals. Also, a serious variety of sexually transmitted diseases unique to homosexuals are a direct result of violating the biological design of the human body.

Even if the negative health consequences of homosexual behavior are ignored, another reality remains. Homosexuals do not procreate. While some may come to have children by some alternate means, two men or two women are incapable of producing offspring. Additionally, studies strongly suggest that the best environment for raising children include both a mother and a father.

To those who charge that opposition to homosexual behavior and same-sex “marriage” is unloving, I ask, “Why is it considered unloving to insist on the truth?” I will grant you that it may not be emotionally positive or seem empathetic; however, truth is what is best for individuals and for society.

Did you know that some people are able to drink through their nose? I have seen it done. Trust me; it is not a pretty sight.

If someone were to assert that it is their choice to ingest liquids through their nose, they would be correct. However, love would compel me to point out the truth that the nose was not designed for such a use. I might even suggest that pursuing such a practice could eventually result in negative, albeit unintended, consequences.

If nose-drinkers sought to have their practice legitimized as an acceptable form for the intake of liquids, I would oppose them. Love would motivate me to oppose a biologically aberrant behavior from being portrayed as a normal choice.

Silly analogy? Perhaps. However, there is nothing silly about the attempt to redefine marriage so as to include homosexual relationships. In so doing, society will legitimize a lifestyle that is both biologically and sociologically unhealthy.

“Love” that ignores the truth and is only emotionally positive or empathetic is not genuine love. Real love risks telling the truth.
--30--
Kelly Boggs, whose column appears each Friday in Baptist Press, is pastor of the Portland-area Valley Baptist Church in McMinnville, Ore.



--------------------------------------------------------------------

FIRST-PERSON: Strength training
by David Jeremiah
Date: April 15, 2005 - Friday

EL CAJON, Calif. (BP)--In the late 1880s, you would have been astounded to see a small Canadian man lift a platform holding 18 men and weighing 4,337 pounds. Louis Cyr became known as the strongest man in North America and Europe. Strongmen spend their lives conditioning their bodies, so their strength shouldn’t surprise us.

What should surprise us is the strength of a different kind of strongman who never worked out with weights. Yet, he fasted and fought the devil and won in the desert. And after 40 days, power like the world had never seen exploded from Him: “Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit ... and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region” (Luke 4:14).

News spread so fast because Jesus was “healing all kinds of sickness ... torments ... demon-possessed” (Matthew 4:23-24) with “the power of the Spirit,” the same Holy Spirit who lives in each and every Christian today.

The gift of God is for us to live with a power greater than that of human strongmen. No believer in Christ should be a spiritual “90-pound weakling.” Christians need to flex the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the Christian’s “muscle” waiting to be flexed, exercised and employed in every moment of the believer’s life. Scripture shows us that “the power of the Spirit” is the strength behind God’s strongmen and strongwomen through the ages:

-- Micah the prophet was “full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, and of justice and might” (Micah 3:8).

-- Mary was overshadowed by the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35).

-- The disciples turned the world upside down after being told, “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:8).

-- God anointed Jesus “with the Holy Spirit and with power” (Acts 10:38).

-- Paul performed “mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God” (Romans 15:19).

You may think, “The Holy Spirit would never give me that kind of power and strength. Who am I?” Who you are is exactly the point: a person indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. In fact, if you do not have the Holy Spirit within you, you are not a Christian to begin with (Romans 8:9-11). But if you are a believer, you have the strength of God in you just waiting to be made manifest in your life.

Your battles are no less serious than the battles fought and won by Scripture’s strongmen. Your need for power and strength is the same: “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10).

Bodybuilders strengthen the muscles in their bodies. But what about spiritual muscles? You become stronger spiritually as you allow the Holy Spirit more control in your life. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). If your heart, soul and mind “muscles” are strong, then you will be strong.

You can love God with your mind by thinking on pure and praiseworthy things (Philippians 4:8); with your soul by obedience (Psalm 119:167); with your heart by keeping it pure (Matthew 12:35; 1 Timothy 1:5; 2 Timothy 2:22). When you love God with all your mind, soul and heart, you will also love Him with all your strength -- which will no longer be your strength but His.

You don’t have to lift 18 men to demonstrate the power of the Spirit. The only requirement is to acknowledge your own weakness, “for &#91;His&#93; strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). 

God stands ready to grant you His strength through the Holy Spirit. But, you must seek it (1 Chronicles 16:11). The greater your faith, the faster fear is replaced by strength (Psalm 27:1; 2 Timothy 1:7). Strength takes time and courage (Psalm 27:14; 31:24). But....

“Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength...mount up with wings like eagles…run and not be weary ... walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). So “mount up with wings like eagles” because God’s “righteous right hand” upholds you (Isaiah 41:10).
--30--
David Jeremiah is the founder of Turning Point ministries, senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, Calif., and chancellor of Christian Heritage College. For more information on Turning Point, go to www.TurningPointOnline.org.



